Ordinary People

Ordinary People (1980)
Director: Robert Redford
Actors: Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch
Memorable line: "Life is about feelings, kiddo."

* Highly Recommended *
A family in crisis. A caring but somewhat confused father. A cold and emotionless mother. A son on the verge of suicide - again. A secret.

All these are elements of what could have been a melodramatic, maudlin, and overwrought story that seeped with pathos but had little substance. But in the hands of first time director, Redford, and deftly and subtly handled by a superb cast, Ordinary People stays out of these perilous trenches and provides the viewer with an engrossing view into a family dealing with the aftermath of a devastating personal tragedy.

It seems to be a Hollywood truism that many actors make good actor's directors. In his directing debut, Redford seems to have embraced this axiom because the strength of this movies comes from its cast. Timothy Hutton is spectacular as a the angst and guilt-ridden teen about to literally shake apart right in front of us. Donald Sutherland carries off the caring father with subtly and aplomb as he walks a tight rope between being a man caught trying to hold his family together and finding his own way in the face his own doubts and sorrow. Mary Tyler Moore breaks from the bubbly stereotype she's been placed in for years and gives us a portrait of a woman so locked in grief that she seems almost frozen, without any resources left to really even make an effort to be the mother and wife she needs to be. Rounding out the cast is Judd Hirsch who provides us with a realistic and up-dated view the therapist as helper and friend. You can't help after watching this movie wondering why the whole cast didn't get Oscar nominations. Hutton did deservedly win the Oscar for best supporting actor.

Alvin Sargent's screenplay adaption of a Judith Guest novel is subtle and nuanced as it deals with the embroiled and tenuous emotions of these damaged characters. The script does it's best to stay clear of pathos and, for the most part, succeeds.

Some might complain that the film features an upper middle class family, but the truth of the matter is that money doesn't protect any one from hurt and sorrow. And maybe it's the affluence and insular lifestyle of these people that makes the movie and situation even more poignant.

I say, that if you're in the mood to experience some grief and growth, you can't go wrong by viewing Ordinary People.