Ordinary People (1980)

We all deal with grief differently, it is a stress like no other in life. In this story a son is killed in a sailing accident, and we get to see how a father, mother and brother deal with the stress. Grief can unmask things about people that would otherwise remain unseen; sometimes it unveils an ugliness far beyond expectations.When one of two sons, Buck dies, his brother becomes suicidally depressed. His mother, on the other hand, pulls the old ostrich bit- head in the sand with the old "I don't want to talk about it" routine. The dopey but likable father goes all Rodney King on us with the "Can't we all just , get along?"The dialogue is what makes this movie great. When the surviving son tries to talk with his mother, it is so awkward and cringe inducing, it is hard to watch. It is obvious that the guy is struggling, and is looking for a little understanding from mom. The kid finds some understanding from a shrink, which can happen, but his mom is no help at all. She is much more worried about the way things look, than the way her son feels. "I had to find out you quit the swim team from Beth Meyerson???, WHAT WILL THE NEIGHBORS THINK?"She lives in a flat out mansion, spends her time golfing and "doing lunch", can obviously afford cosmetic surgery (wink wink), and has a great bod for a woman of her age. Yet, all she worries about is her vacations, clothing, image, in short herself. Look up "rich bitch" in the dictionary and there is an image of her, retouched of course.Some of the negative reviews I have read seem to miss the point. People react differently to grief, sometimes even in a bad way, and yes, it can be the mother who can behave badly. Granted, this is not the norm, but it does occur. That is what makes this so interesting, we get to see an unusual reaction from an unusual family member. Some viewers are so indoctrinated into the PC world of feminist scrip writing that it seems to melt they're butch-wax when they see anybody but the adult male portrayed as the villain.In this piece , the father and son are the ones with the wisdom and understanding, and it is the female that wears the black hat. This was made in 1980, and in the 90s this type of writing became practically illegal, or at least never green lighted by a studio. They don't make them like this anymore, the PC police would not approve.

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.

The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son.Robert Redford and Timothy Hutton both won Academy Awards for their respective debuts: Redford as Best Director and Hutton, in his first film (he had previously appeared on television), as Best Supporting Actor. The film marked Mary Tyler Moore's career breakout from the personality of her other two famous roles as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Moore's complex performance was well-received and obtained a nomination for Best Actress. The film also won Best Picture for 1980.Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling it "one of the year's best films, probably of the decade" and later named it the fifth best film of the year 1980. Gene Siskel likewise ranked it the second best film of 1980. Both of them ended up giving "Raging Bull" a higher slot on the year's list, which is probably correct. The movie is a bit dry, and maybe does not age as well as it could.

In Illinois, the upper-middle-class family Jarrett is living a trauma in their lives, with the loss of their beloved son Buck followed by the attempt of suicide of his younger brother Conrad (Timothy Hutton). Conrad's father Calvin (Donald Sutherland) is a good man of few words and his mother Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) is a cold-hearted woman that loved Buck and has always been bitter and never supported Conrad, who is under therapy with Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch). The greatest concern of Beth is to live her perfect life, denying affection to her son. Conrad blames himself for the death of his brother since they were sailing in a bad weather and when one string jammed in the block, he was not able to release it, capsizing the boat. Conrad has difficulties to reestablish his relationship with his friend and quits the swimming team of his school.When Conrad meets Karen (Dinah Manoff), who was interned with him in the same psychiatric clinic also for attempt suicide, he feels better. And when he dates the gorgeous student from the choir Jeannine (Elizabeth McGovern), he begins to see the world with other eyes. But his problem of relationship with his mother associated to the death of Karen, who committed suicide, brings him back to the rock bottom and he runs to meet Dr. Berger. Will the psychiatrist succeed in helping Conrad? "Ordinary People" is a powerful and heartbreaking drama, one of the best American dramas from the 80's. This film is also a milestone in the career of Robert Redford since it is his directorial debut. "Ordinary People" has top-notch direction and performances; the screenplay is very well-written with powerful lines. The timeless story is well-resolved with the realistic decision of the shattered Jarrett family. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Gente Como a Gente" ("People Like Us")