Very Cool!!!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Film Review: "Ordinary People" (1980)Based on a best-selling novel by Judith Guest, firstly published in 1976, then optioned by producer Ronald L. Schwary with an exclusive "Paramount Pictures" distribution deal, when actor turns to Academy-Award-winning directions by Robert Redford, with an immensely eye for character close-up and details in beat acting, sends his cast into a storm of emotions, where the center-theme between a relentless mother character, icely-cold as bare-to-the-bone, cleanly-sweeped portrayal by actress Mary Tyler Moore (1936-2017), who will not forgive her younger on-screen son Conrad, featuring heart-breaking Acdemy-Awarded constant-beating scene work from 18-year-old actor Timothy Hutton, whose character mentally suffers "The Impeccable" due to an inter-familiar-conviction for an accidently-committed death of the mother's first-born favorited son in a yachting boat trip, skillfully intercut within psychiatrist-chamber session alongside Academy-Award-nominated Judd Hirsch, when the only stability to a fulminate simplistic story-line on a mother preparing to leave the past and family life behind in this "Best Picture" Academy-Award winner, ruling-out visionary late black-and-white cinematic masterworks as medical-drama "The Elephant Man" directed by David Lynch and "Raging Bull" directed by Martin Scorsese, when Robert Redford's brutally-honest picture gets conceived to all-around conventional establishments agreed on March 31st 1981 at the Oscars in its 53rd Edition."Ordinary People" is a tense drama on the human condition, when the only likable character comes along with solidly-life-excepting manner playing supreme actor Donald Sutherland, whose portrayal of a loving father standing by family members in crisis, no-matter-what, does not need any public recognition to an extent that some family conditions are bound, if not to say, must break to be one's solely-full-comitted self in a forever scared lively environment, which is not mend to heal but simply to be comprehended by the person next to you.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

How do you survive a tragedy when there is so much anger surrounding it? That is the understanding behind the 1980 movie "Ordinary People". At the central heart of the film, young Conrad is coming to grips with the loss of his older brother when they where on a boat trip. To make matters worse, his guilt and anger over the accident have made things between his parents and him very estranged. Will there be any chance of a reconciliation and/or healing? The movie is a very thought provoking film dealing with the issues of death, loss and healing. It's subject matter at times can be very hard to watch and should be watched with caution. Overall, it is a great film and is worth the time to watch it. Parental Discretion is Highly Advised!!!!

I watch Ordinary People when I was about 15 the first time and it changed me. This film shows so much about loss and grief. Everyone in this film gives amazing performances. Even though Timothy Hutton performance is awesome I was in awe with Donald Sutherlands performance the big scene between him and Mary Tyler Moore is just amazing.

Based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest, this is a beautifully written, acted and directed exploration of the dynamics of a dysfunctional family, grief and depression. It is a deeply moving, intelligent and honest film which Robert Redford, making his directorial debut, handles in a superb manner. The script by Alvin Sargent is wonderful and features the best on screen depiction of depression that I have ever seen.The lead role of Conrad Jarrett is played by Timothy Hutton, who was only 19 at the time. Conrad is struggling with coming to terms with the accidental drowning of his elder brother Buck. As he was present at the time and unable to save him, he is suffering from both PTSD and survivor's guilt which led him to attempt suicide. Understandably, Conrad is in emotional turmoil at the beginning of the film and his experiences make it impossible for him to resume his normal life at home or in school. Many of his problems are compounded by the fact that he has such a poor relationship with his mother Beth, whom he feels does not love him or perhaps even hates him. Hutton is wonderfully natural in the role and Conrad always seems like a real person. In the early parts of the film, he is fidgety, short-tempered, easily distracted, seems unable to focus his thoughts, does not know (at least consciously) exactly why he feels so bad, occasionally says and does things which he immediately regrets and cannot even imagine feeling any better than he does at any given moment. All of these are feelings associated with depression and Hutton perfectly communicates them to the audience. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role at only 20 and he is the youngest male to ever win an Oscar. Although he was fourth billed, he is certainly the star of the film and should really have been nominated for Best Actor. However, perhaps this was done deliberately so that he would have a better chance of winning a well-deserved award for his excellent performance.In one of the most inspired examples of casting against type in film history, Mary Tyler Moore plays Conrad's cold, distant, brittle mother Beth. Interestingly, in spite of the fact that her eponymous sitcom was the most successful TV series of the 1970s, she did not appear in a single film in that decade. This was her first big screen appearance since Elvis' last film "Change of Habit" in 1969 and her first worth mentioning since "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 1967. Beth is a self-obsessed, unfeeling woman who is more concerned about appearances than her surviving son's emotional problems. She focuses all of her attention on maintaining her beautiful home which looks like something out of a magazine in order to create the illusion that the Jarretts are a happy, normal family. This is part of the reason that the casting works so well. Who doesn't love Mary Tyler Moore? Beth keeps Conrad at arm's length and, frankly, seems more than a little contemptuous of him at times. Her well-meaning husband Calvin comes to the conclusion that she may even be incapable of love. Before that, he said that Beth loved Buck but he also said that everyone thought that they had so much in common. If she did love him, I think that it was for the sole reason that he reminded her of herself. It is hinted that Beth may have inherited these characteristics from her own mother, who seems similarly cold.Donald Sutherland, one of the best actors of his generation, is likewise brilliant as Calvin, a good and decent man who tries his best to understand his son and do the right thing. Of the four major cast members, Sutherland was the only one who was not nominated for an Oscar for his performance, which I think he should have been as it is a fantastic performance. Perhaps it was because his character is more straightforward than Conrad and Beth but this is needed to ground the film and contrast their emotional problems with the more well-adjusted Calvin. Judd Hirsch, another veteran of a hugely popular 1970s sitcom, is perfect casting as Conrad's psychiatrist Dr. Tyrone Berger, whose somewhat confrontational style works very well in helping Conrad to heal and forgive himself for being unable to save Buck. He has less screen time compared to the other three main stars but Berger is a hugely important character who helps to hold the film together. Dinah Minoff is excellent in her one scene as Conrad's friend from the hospital Karen Aldrich, who seems cheerful and even tells Conrad to "cheer up" but eventually commits suicide. This sends Conrad into a downward spiral but he is thankfully able to recover. Elizabeth McGovern is very good as Conrad's would-be girlfriend Jeannine who tries her best to understand what he is going through. The same is true of his one-time best friend Joe, played by Fredric Lehne, but Conrad rejects his efforts as being around him reminds him too much of Buck. Adam Baldwin has a great small role as Conrad's confrontational "friend" Stillman who makes no effort to understand his feelings and even deliberately provokes him on one occasion. The great character actors M. Emmet Walsh and James B. Sikking also have nice small roles as Conrad's swimming coach Salan and Calvin's business partner Ray Hanley respectively. Redford has such a great eye for casting.Overall, this is a simply wonderful film which explores the material very respectfully and in an understated manner. After "Citizen Kane", "12 Angry Men" and "The Wicker Man", all of which are in my Top 20, this is the fourth best directorial debut film that I have seen. As it stands, this is probably my 23rd favourite film of all time.