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.
The directorial debut of Robert Redford, based on the first novel by Judith Guest, took a bit of effort to get off the ground. After Redford had shopped the idea to a couple of studios that turned him down, he went to Paramount. Even there, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg weren’t interested. Chairman Barry Diller overrode his lieutenants and gave the project the green light.
“Ordinary People” opened as a critical and commercial success, grossing $90 million on a $6.2 million production budget. It also garnered the Academy Award for Best Picture and earned Redford a Best Director Oscar. The story of an upper-middle-class suburban family struck by tragedy is told deliberately and methodically, somewhat in the style of “The Best Years of Our Lives” by acclaimed director William Wyler in 1946.
Timothy Hutton won Best Support Actor as Conrad Jarrett, a troubled teen who attempted suicide a year after his brother Buck (Scott Doebler) died in a boating accident. Unspoken, yet looming just beneath the surface, is the implication that Conrad bears at least some responsibility for Buck’s death.
Conrad’s father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), empathizes with his son and encourages him to meet with a psychiatrist named Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch). The scenes between Hutton and Hirsch bear favorable resemblances to patient-doctor encounters in films such as ”Good Will Hunting” (Matt Damon and Robin Williams) and “The Prince of Tides” (Barbara Streisand and Nick Nolte). Slowly the two establish a rapport and peel back the layers of Conrad’s tortured psyche.
A significant impediment to Conrad’s recovery is the chilly interactions with his distant mother, Beth, played by Mary Tyler Moore. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the film is Moore’s performance, as she tries in vain to hide her devastation at losing her eldest – and obviously favorite – son. More than a year after his death, Buck’s room remains untouched. In a slow pan along the bookcases and walls, Beth wistfully examines the trophies and celebratory photos, recalling in flashbacks fond moments with Buck – a life with so much potential, gone in an instant. Moore’s work in “Ordinary People” is a far cry from previous roles in television comedies and, in many ways, a revelation of casting against type.
Other fine performances include M. Emmet Walsh as the swim coach and Elizabeth McGovern as Jeannine Pratt, Conrad’s love interest. Alvin Sargent adapted the screenplay from Guest’s novel and won an Academy Award for his efforts.
“Ordinary People” intelligently examines the fragility of a seemingly idyllic family, comfortably – though blithely – ensconced in their bourgeois bubble. When they are suddenly forced to face a series of heartbreaks and traumas beyond their comprehension, the curtain is pulled back for all to see. Once the illusion has been shattered, the painful unraveling slowly exposes the soul of each character as they move past the façade and into something more akin to the real world – where control and predictability simply go out the window.
Now available in a newly remastered Blu-ray™ as part of the Paramount Presents line
