Ordinary People
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Movie Reviews of Ordinary People
Movie Review: REALISTIC YET HAUNTING WALK THROUGH LOSS AND RECOVERY
Summary: 5 Stars
You may have seen American Beauty and The Ice Storm as moving chronicles of everyday lives or dysfunctional families, but this could easily be the movie that set the trend. I chanced upon this this film without knowing anything about it, except that it was Robert Redfords directorial debut, and was truly surprised! The narrative is remarkably credible and smooth. The writing is superb, there is not one moment in this film that feels false or "acted." The dialogue is extremely well written, but Redford, like Clint Eastwood or Kunrick, was not afraid to exploit moments of silence as well.
I cannot believe that Donald Sutherland wasn't even nominated for a supporting cast role, he leaves a taste of his presence long after the credits have rolled. Mary Tyler Moore was very successful in potraying the odious mother who cannot even feel her own despair after her favorite son's death in a boat accident. But hats off to the pivot of the movie, the younger brother who survived the accident, played flawlessly by Tim Hutton! I guess a performance that is also quite easily overlooked is that of Judd Hirsch, in a seemingly background but very important role of the younger son's psychiatrist.
Somewhat atypical of Hollywood, there are no happy endings and chiming bells to "Ordinary People." This is a deep, dark movie that journeys into the worst, most difficult situation a family must ever face, and comes out with a very natural resolution (of sorts.)
A must-watch treat!
Movie Review: No Ordinary Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most honest and perceptive movies I have ever come across. It's painful and uncomfortable to watch some of the scenes because of its truthfullness. One scene that came to mind is the picture taking scene, isn't that just a sad scene. You're own mother not being able to even fake affection for his son. I know Mary Tyler Moore' character is not exactly a monster it's just she doesn't know how to connect with his son (in her words the other son that died whom she get along just fine doesn't need parenting). The screenplay allows the characters in the movie to be three dimensional, it made you feel that based on the conversations and dialogues they had that there could be people in real life in that situation.
Mary Tyler Moore gave a topnoth performance. She just understood the complexity of the role and she never made a false move, from the big confrontation scenes to the quieter non-dialogue scenes. She was just consistently marvelous. The rest of the cast was great too. The underrated Donald Sutherland provided a good match for Moore. I love the dynamics between the two. Not to mention that they are very believable as a couple.
This is just a great movie. Great performances from the cast, a perceptive and moving screenplay and an intelligent direction from Redford. A satisfying movie that doesn't just make you think and feel, it makes you react and observe.
Grade: A
Movie Review: Profound
Summary: 5 Stars
"Ordinary People" strikes a cord deep in family issues that most keep hiding forever
in their hearts - forgiveness.
Death in the family is hard enough to deal with, but "Ordinary People" shows us its possible to
even forgive someone, like your own mother, for not expressly her love for you like you feel
it was expressed for an older (or younger) sibling.
Mary Tyler Moore does a supreme job playing the unforgiving mother, while Timothy Hutton
won the best supporting actor award for the role of Conrad who is riddled with guilt for
the death of his older brother and pays a price for it at the hands of his mother.
Forgiveness is one thing many of us will never be able to experience, because so many of
us never even forgive ourselves for our shortcomings. This film is so solid, it was won
the Best Picture Academy award in 1980 - a year that most experts thought would be
won by "Raging Bull" - but "Ordinary People" won because this film is about finding solace
in a world riddled by humanity as being "unfair to life" - and where "Raging Bull" loses is
where it dwells on the negative results of life and "Ordinary People" wins with compassion,
forgiveness, and the hunger for inner peace inside our souls we so crave when we stumble
in our own weaknesses.
Daniel James Tyler (The WJ Group)
Movie Review: An outstanding film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a classic in film. Strong cast, intense emotional content as the characters go through their various journeys, well done cinematography, good dialog, and a very moving story.Sutherland is great as the father (as always), Hutton is great as the traumatized surviving son, Mary Tyler Moore delivers an incredible (and personally significant) performance as the mother, and Hirsch is outstanding as the therapist who is helping Hutton's character put his life back together after a suicide attempt in the wake (no pun intended) of a boating accident that claimed the life of his older, much adored, brother.
The film shows the progression of emotional conflicts, trials and triblulations as these three people try and make sense of life afer an untimely death. The story is primarily told through Hutton's character.
It is a highly cathartic and moving film, particularly if you have ever lost a loved one to an accident. The scenes with Hutton and Hirsch are especially intense, as is the scene where Moore finally loses her extreme self control. Mary Tyler Moore is just amazing in that scene.
Robert Redford's directing debut, I believe, and a darned fine one at that. I consider this to be one of the greatest films of all time, and watch it about once a year to experience the emotional release. Highly recommended.
My copy is VHS, so I can't comment on the DVD version differences.
Movie Review: "Aaaaah, you're just saying thaaaaat!"
Summary: 5 Stars
This film came out in 1980 and won 4 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director(Robert Redford), Best Supporting Actor(Timothy Hutton), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Its primary competition that year was from another great film, "Raging Bull." I first discovered this movie when I was 18-years-old (How perfect is that?), and I was just simply blown away by the authenticity of emotions shown here. This is one of those rare successes: a character-driven movie that garners critical praise as well as being embraced by the masses. The acting by the entire cast is some of the finest in film history! That may sound like a biased opinion, but considering the amount of honors bestowed on this film, I know I'm right. What makes this film particularly remarkable is that, while it was made in 1980 and set in that time, watching it now it looks more like a period film than say, a film from a certain decade that has lost its vitality through the passing of time. It is still fresh and vibrant, the connections that are made between the characters are as univeral as ever. This film has superb acting, a magnificent screenplay adapted from the novel by Judith Guest, and a first-time director's inspiration in Robert Redford. This is a priceless treasure in my collection. I urge everyone to see this excellent film at least once. Thank you.