Ordinary People
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.99 You Save: $2.96 (33%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Ordinary People
Movie Review: The revealing truth about ordinary ORDINARY PEOPLE
Summary: 5 Stars
If I could rate a film 10 stars then I would...so I will (who's stopping me!)
Robert Redford's directorial debut film ORDINARY PEOPLE is still the single,most profound revealing of the family full of secrets that must keep its thin veneer from cracking exposing the truth: ordinary people,you and I,our friends, our work companions,may be living a guise of happiness and perfect and complete tranquility, while all the while suffering severely from secret guilt and shame,and having no where to turn!
The film singlehandedly opened the doors for me,personally,in the Summer of 1980, to delving into my "perfect family" past.I can credit no other source than this Mary Tyler Moore,Donald Sutherland,Timothy Hutton,Judd Hirsch acted expose on what first coined the term "the dysfunctional family"-a phrase that hitherto was not known,but has become a household staple (pun intended)since this film was released.
ORDINARY PEOPLE is a timeless piece of art that will never go out of fashion.Why? Because the truth that this film enlightens never goes away:many (99% with the other 1% still in denial!) American families keep up appearances due to whatever their social standing in the community might be.In this film's case,an older son (Timothy Hutton) has been trying to keep on going in his teen years after the death of his younger brother in a boating accident.He returns home to the "perfect" family,Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland who present the idyllic upper middle class image.But there is something eerie and icy about this homelife that can only be seen from the inside.Everyone is affected by it, but no one can or is willing or is yet able to articulate what the problem is! Timothy Hutton seeks out a therapist (a deadpan,right-on clinician-type Judd Hirsch) who is the catalyst through which Hutton's character comes to full enlightenment about the worthless emotions of misplaced guilt.This enlightenment threatens the very thread bare fabric of this family, and the sparks start to fly in ways that still have yet to be captured on film with such nuance and accuracy.Only the films THE HANGING GARDEN and THE ICE STORM have even remotely approached the power of ORDINARY PEOPLE. This story is unparalleled IMO in the world of family dynamics.That this film was Movie of the Year still stands as a testament to the resilient direction and acting in this film... with no special effects,no car chases, no CGI...but rather the cream of the crop actors demonstrating their fine-honed craft and a then-young director with a vision to tell a story about ordinary people.
If you need to take a look at your family dynamics,then it started here and still starts here...ORDINARY PEOPLE!
Movie Review: An Extraordinary Movie about Ordinary People!
Summary: 5 Stars
5 Stars. (Only 2 other movies, Metropolis and Saving Private Ryan, got that from me). ****Spoilers****
Director Robert Redford, in his directorial debut, makes cinematic perfection with the screenplay by Alvin Sargent (from the best selling novel by Judith Guest). Redford stays extremely true to the novel by Judith Guest and extracts exceptional performances from Hutton, Donald Sutherland (dad), Mary Tyler Moore (mom), the shrink (Judd Hirsch), the girlfriend (Elizabeth Perkins), and the swim coach (M. Emmet Walsh). It was Best Picture, Best Director (Redford in his debut), Best Supporting Actor (Hutton), and best Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent - wrote Unfaithful).
Conrad Jarett (Timothy Hutton) is a teenager struggling with trying to kill himself after his brother's accidental death but is now out of the hospital and seeing Doctor Burger (Judd Hirsh). The movie is seamless going from one scene to the next much akin to anxiety. It takes you into Conrad's struggles through the film, his father's (Sutherland) struggle with his own guilt, and his mom's (Mary Tyler Moore) disaffection for her son. The family falls apart even though dad is trying to keep it together while Conrad is in deep introspection and finding out who he really is inside. He's not his brash brother.
Conrad and his shrink's exchanges are poignant, deep, and sometimes hilarious. He knows just when to push Connie. He knows when to let Connie vent. Even Dad goes to see him. Mom just can't seem to engage emotionally making Moore's performance something to behold. You see her anger or loss of feeling for Connie from the beginning while dad is supportive. While Conrad conquers his demons, they tear their marriage apart.
One of the best lines is "Where there's a real problem, there's a real answer." Hutton's brilliant depiction of going through suicidal ideas is breathtaking.
The beginning and the ending are brilliant. All in-between is a collage of a family falling apart while the son is facing his demons with success. The movie is deep with raw emotion from everyone. It'll make you laugh, cry, and look deep inside yourself. I've seen it maybe 50 or so times. The classical music throughout just makes it even more emotionally driven.
Ordinary People is anything but ordinary. It is an extraordinary movie about ordinary people.
Movie Review: Extraordinary Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
"Ordinary People" is a great movie classic. It develops the story beautifully with both subtley and directness through scenes that crescendo to a powerful climax and conclusion. The acting is marvelous; the directing and editing are masterful; and the story (derived from a Judith Guest novel, worthy of reading separately before or after viewing the movie) is an emotional gold mine.
The story involves a respectable, but dysfunctional upper-middle class suburban Chicago family, the Jarretts, who are recovering from the aftermath of their eldest son's death. Conrad (Timothy Hutton) recovered from the same boating accident that killed Buck, his brother. He has to work out the results of that accident and still is surviving emotionally after the storm's wake, including a suicide attempt and a stay in a mental hospital. Ordinary living has become nearly unbearable for him, but he has the support of a loving, but helpless father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and a lack of support from a selfish and uncaring mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore). Conrad finds himself adrift until he heeds his father's advice to seek help from a psychiatrist, Dr. Burger (Judd Hirsch).
"Ordinary People" provides a symphonic build-up of emotions and revelations that are interesting and cathartic. The performances are sensational. Timothy Hutton justifiably won best supporting actor for the anguish, understated and boiling over, he created as Conrad. Mary Tyler Moore has the performance of her lifetime, and Donald Sutherland, never nominated, shows ingenious subtlety as the father. Judd Hirsch and M. Emmit Walsh are also excellent, as well as some of the natural performances by the other supporting actors. Robert Redford has his directorial debut, which garnered him best director Oscar.
"Ordinary People" is either loved or hated. Some criticize the movie as mere melodrama, but it is so well crafted, it is hard to reconcile, except to say that you need to be reasonably sensitive to appreciate this movie and how it unfolds. There is still resentment regarding their Oscar sweep of this movie. "Raging Bull," another Best Picture nominee, is another worthy classic, but a different sort of film. "Ordinary People" is a one of a kind movie made with a sensitivity and brilliance that few films ever accomplish.
Movie Review: We are all just ordinary people
Summary: 5 Stars
'Ordinary People' is one of those films that everyone can appreciate. Even if one has never been in this exact situation we have all still in one way or another felt the pain this family feels. Regardless of whether you feel 'Ordinary People' to be the best film of 80 or the film that stole the crown you really can't escape the weight a film like this carries. In the heartfelt and heartbreaking performances that seem almost too real we all can find a piece of ourselves and that's what makes this a brilliant film.
The film follows Beth and Calvin as they mourn the death of their eldest son Buck who died in a boating accident. Their youngest son Conrad is almost left in the cold, feeling blamed for the death not by just his parents but by himself. Because of this guilt, because of this pain he tries to end his life, and if it weren't for his fathers intervention he may have been successful. The film shows the growing animosity Beth has for her son, almost as if she wished he had drown and not her dear Buck. There's one scene in particular that really struck me, when Beth's parents were over and they wanted a picture of Conrad with his mother. The tension in her voice as she pleaded with them not to take their picture, it's heartbreaking.
Mary Tyler Moore's performance to me was the standout, far cry from her sitcom days. She showed every ounce of sincerity in what she was saying; how she was acting that an image of her tossing her hat into the air never once crossed my mind. She became Beth. Donald Sutherland is also a great actor, but his character being the quiet husband comes across background to the mother and the son which serve as the true body of the film. Calvin is the heart, but the heart is rarely seen. Timothy Hutton did brilliantly as Conrad, a boy so beat down by his guilt and so distraught over his mothers distaste for him that he can't function right. Judd Hirsch plays the psychiatrist Conrad is sent to that befriends him and helps him come to grips with his real feelings.
Between Redford's amazing directing debut and Alvin Sargent wonderful adaptation of Judith Guest's novel of the same name you have a great movie waiting to happen, and when you add the powerful performances by everyone in the cast you get that great movie. Highly recommended to anyone!
Movie Review: Impeccable acting, writing, and directing
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently watched this movie for the first time, and I was emotionally on edge for the entire two hours. Rarely does a film surface that so brilliantly tackles repressed human emotion and family tension. The film is very character-driven, especially the roles of Timothy Hutton and Mary Tyler Moore. Hutton plays Conrad, the tormented, suicidal younger son who survived the boating accident that killed his older brother, Buck. Moore is Beth, the icy, anguished mother who cannot forgive her younger son for surviving when Buck, her favorite, perished. Donald Sutherland is Calvin, the father who desperately tries to reconcile his wife and son and promote healing in the family. Judd Hirsch plays Dr. Berger, the psychiatrist who helps Conrad come to terms with his parents, himself, and his dead brother. Most of the movie is viewed through Hutton's eyes, but we see each character try to cope with Buck's untimely and tragic death. I liked the fact that we discover the details about the accident in flashback pieces throughout the movie; it adds an element of suspense to the psychological study of the characters. Several scenes are especially moving and are permanently affixed to my memory: the photo-taking scene with the grandparents; the restaurant scene with Conrad and Karen; Conrad's first session with Dr. Berger; Conrad's breakthrough session with Dr. Berger; the scene where Conrad catches his mother reminiscing in Buck's room, and the two can't even carry on a conversation together; the scene when Moore finally loses her rigid self-control; and of course the final scene. Watch each of these scenes and you actually FEEL what each character feels. It's incredible; a testament to brilliant acting, writing, and directing.
I believe that each of us can identify with some element of the tragic, dysfunctional family presented here, and perhaps that makes this film so timeless and exceptional. This movie isn't over-the-top (even though the social class of the Jarretts isn't exactly "ordinary"). The film is impeccable. And here is what allows us to identify with this film, whether we've tragically lost a close family member or not: we all wish we were "ordinary people," but like these characters, we all have deeper emotions and tragedies that threaten to break us.