Ordinary People

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth McGovern, Adam Baldwin
Directed by: Robert Redford
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
1980

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A husband (Donald Sutherland) and wife (Mary Tyler Moore) deal with the death of their eldest son and the continuing trials of their post-suicidal younger son (Timothy Hutton) as they try to hold together the fragile pieces of their shattering family.

Review:

Tim: Robert Redford used his directorial debut to give us an almost-painfully emotional movie about a splintered family. I honestly am not sure how this movie could have been more emotional. This film is a drama in every sense of the way, told in such a powerful way that it captured four Academy Awards- Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Hutton), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Not only is four Oscars impressive, but the fact that it's these four are even more impressive. This is a solid, memorable movie.

Typically, I find some fault with movies that stray into downright melodrama. Miraculously, Redford's film manages to be overwhelmingly emotional while never being overly melodramatic. It walks that fine line perfectly. This movie does have a wonderful source material, and that powerful story translates well on screen. This family is very interesting and it is fascinating to watch as they struggle with the broken fabric of their lives.

The cast is truly superb. Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore are very good as the parents in this family. Moore had a bit of a thankless role, playing the emotionally cold, distant mother. She embraces this role and comes across quite believably. There are a few moments when I shuddered at her performance and felt angry at her character- those are sure signs of an impressive performance. Not surprisingly, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. I was, on the other hand, surprised that Donald Sutherland received no acting noms for his role. He gave an emotional, powerful performance, and I was quite impressed with him. I also really liked the smaller role of Judd Hirsch as the family psychiatrist. He is a believable, effective character, and I really liked his performance. He deserved his Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

While Sutherland, Moore, and Hirsch give impressive performances, they are all overshadowed by the only actor in the film to actually win an Academy Award- 19 year-old Timothy Hutton. His performance is truly remarkable. He runs the entire gamet of emotions- including depression, sadness, anger, hope, love, fear, and redemption. He manages to be better than a slew of other impressive actors (true, the writing helped, but he brought this character to life). Hutton does such a good job that his emotions leap from the screen, impossible to ignore. I really liked his performance and truly believe he deserved his Best Supporting Actor Academy Award (which he won in spite of potentially splitting Oscar votes with Hirsch's Best Supporting Actor nom as well). He simply gives a performance for the ages.

Robert Redford directed a gem of a movie, a powerful family drama that makes a lasting impact on the audience. I really enjoyed this movie, as I was impressed by the character development and the wonderful performances which brought this movie to life. This film deserves its praise, and is anything but ordinary.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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