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Movies / On DVD / Ordinary People
Ordinary People

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Ordinary People (1980)

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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:29

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: Though shot through with bitterness and sorrow, Robert Redford's directorial debut is absorbing and well-acted.

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Devastated by the loss of their older son, well-to-do suburban couple Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) are trying to rebuild their lives after their younger son, Conrad... Devastated by the loss of their older son, well-to-do suburban couple Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) are trying to rebuild their lives after their younger son, Conrad (Timothy Hutton), attempts suicide. While Beth, who always favored the elder son, retreats into an icy, emotionless shell, Calvin tries to draw Conrad back into the family and into life as a teenager. Conrad sings in the choir and returns to the swim team, but both his brother's death and his own experiences traumatize him. Conrad reluctantly begins therapy sessions with Berger (Judd Hirsch), which allow him some respite from the unbearable grief and guilt he carries with him. As Conrad makes strides, Calvin realizes that he no longer knows his wife and is both saddened and angered by how seemingly emotionless she has become. A classic portrait of family life in the face of tragedy, Robert Redford's award-winning directorial debut is moving and thought provoking. Based on the novel by Judith Guest, the film features the debuts of Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern as well as breakthrough performances from Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland. [More]

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Basil Hoffman, Elizabeth McGovern

Director: Robert Redford

Director: Robert Redford
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch
Producer: Ronald Schwary

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 3, 2009

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Reviews for Ordinary People

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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A sensitive portrait about a young man struggling to regain equilibrium after his brother's death that helps us gain a fresh perspective on adolescence and adulthood.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/15/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A moving, intelligent and funny film about disasters that are commonplace to everyone except the people who experience them.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 1 Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is Redford's ability to let the movie breathe...that forces the viewer to experience the film on a visceral level.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
11/24/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

This is a film that will ring true many viewers. The ability of the film to touch 'ordinary' folk so strongly and honestly is the mark of a true classic.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
08/21/01
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide

An intelligent, perceptive, and deeply moving film.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An uncomfortable film, one that leaves you aching for its characters. Expect a bit of a funk afterward.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/01/00
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

The film looks austere and serious, rather as if it had been shot inside a Frigidaire, and the oppressiveness of the images tends to strangle laughter, even at the most absurd excesses of Alvin Sargent's script.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/13/06
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

despite its flaws, Ordinary People is a powerful depiction of the damage done when human beings can no longer communicate with those closest to them

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
08/21/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

This dissection of family mores in upscale suburbia is emotionally effective but decidedly unsentimental--it's the perfect text for the feature directorial debut of Robert Redford, exhibiting restrained style with strong performances.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/23/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A beautifully acted film about the impact of a family tragedy on those who blame themselves and others.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
12/13/06
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

A powerfully intimate domestic drama.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/20/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is a movie about emotional honesty, about the courage and emotional vocabulary that are necessary for the connections and intimacy we need to be able to survive challenges like the tragedy faced by this family.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
04/13/02
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Somber and subtly depressing

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/13/01
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

...an uncommonly rich and rewarding cinematic experience.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

An austere and delicate examination of the ways in which a likable family falters under pressure and struggles, with ambiguous results, to renew itself.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/09
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only reaching Chekhovian heights in its dreams.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/23/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

For an Oscar-winner it's unusually bleak but the power is very carefully controlled.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/07/07
Channel 4 Film

Robert Redford chose to adapt Judith Guest's novel as his first directorial effort, with impressive results.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/13/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An actors' movie and an advert for therapy, extremely bitter, but handsomely directed in its elegant pretentiousness.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

Fully deserving of its many accolades.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/08
Empire Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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