Ordinary People

Rating:
Summary: Anything BUT Ordinary
Review: First, about the title. I think it refers to the fact that the average person, when looking at a wealthy family in the perfect suburbs who belong to the perfect country club etc would assume that tragedy does not be-fall them, or if it does it does so more easily. Through this remarkable film you realize that just the opposite is true.
The Jared family of suburban Chicago is trying to cope with the loss of their eldest son in a boating accident. Their other son, Conrad, was on the boat but survived. At first they "deal" with it by ignoring it, but once Conrad starts going to counseling all of that changes and the family is forced to cope.
The intriguing part is that they do so different. The father (Donald Sutherland) slowly realizes that open discussion may be the only hope of keeping his one surviving child from going mad, while mother (Mary Tyler Moore in an ASTOUNDING performance) prefers to just block out everything. Soon she sees Conrad as the enemy because he wants to openly discuss the one subject which she can not discuss at all.
Slowly but surely these different modes of coping run head-on into each other and the resulting fireworks are enough to put the average person into counseling just from watching it. Not just because of the anguish you see, but because you actually feel as though you are eavesdropping on an actual house hoping to find some snooty people reading the Wall Street Journal, only to find they are Real (Ordinary) people in the middle of their own private hell.
The acting directing and editing could not be any better. I am still furious with the Academy for not awarding Best Actress to Mary Tyler Moore for this is the best work she has EVER done. If you only know her from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" or of course the "MTM" show, her work here will knock you unconscious. Her character must be cold and unfeeling in order to keep that one bad bit of news from reaching her, but at the same time she must avoid going over the top in her acting and turning the character into a farce. She accomplished it perfectly !!
Rent this movie by all means, it will affect you in profound ways.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding.....
Review: In his directing debut Robert Redford hits a home run with this story of a family on the edge. Timothy Hutton plays Conrad 'Con' Jarrett a young high school student who's trying to cope with the death of his brother in a boating accident. After an attempted suicide he is hospitalized and the movie picks up a few months after he's been home. Donald Sutherland plays Calvin Jarrett and Mary Tyler Moore (in an amazing proformance not just by a comedic actor but any actor)is Beth Jarrett. Sutherland is trying very hard to help his son but at times seems only to try not to push him too hard. Moore is still morning the death of her son Jordan 'Buck' Jarrett in the accident and seems to both blame Conrad and is afriad of him at the same time. Judd Hirsch plays Dr. Berger who Hutton see's to help him cope. The supporting cast is very solid like Adam Baldwin,M Emmet Walsh, and Elizabeth Magovern, but he movie belongs to the four main actors and as well it should. This is a heartbreaking movie about loss.coping, and love. Redford pulls out all the stops in this dramatic masterpiece. This is human intrest at it's best and all areas of the typical American family is seen. In the end the movie is about just what the title suggest's Ordinary People like any other on the surface but under the face's there are problems. The work of all the actors is just superb. Hutton won and Oscar for the role and both Hirsch and Moore were nominated. The movies biggest surprise comes from Moore. Best know for her work on the Mary Tyler Moore show and known mostly for her comedy is a real gem in this movie as the cold and distant wife and mother. You will never see a better movie about denial and the Amercian family or just plain Ordinary People.

Rating:
Summary: I HATE MTM !!!
Review: Honestly, that is how I felt about Mary Tyler Moore as she did a performance easily worthy of an Oscar for Best Actress. Her depiction of the mother of a family was so credible that you were iron filings and the picture was a strong magnet. After seeing MTM do so well in comedic roles, seeing her do so well in a strong dramatic role demonstrated how versitile and powerful an actress she is. She depicted a Mother whose main goals revolve around the mother's three strongest goals: status, status and status. This is why I hated her....she was so credible !!! This has to the best picture Redford has ever directed.

Rating:
Summary: Most underrated Oscar winner ever.
Review: This is a small scale type of film. Watching it makes you realize Redford's passion for Independent films(and why he started Sundance)and why they are so much better than what hollywood usually has to offer. This film takes it's times to unfold and lets you get to know the characters and WHAT a payoff. This is explosive stuff and you won't soon forget, hell you won't be able to shake Mary Tyler Moore's actions off your own mind for a while. One Problem, this DVD has no special features and for me that is what DVD is for. A making of would be excellent and a commentary, for inspiration Redford could look at DePalma's recent foray into DVD with his excellent "Special Editions" for both Carrie and the also underrated Dressed To Kill films. When you watch this film you just KNOW that all involved had a profound experience so how about letting us know.

Rating:
Summary: An extremely moving family drama
Review: This movie profoundly affected me when I first saw it 20 years ago, and watching it today its impact remains undiminished.

In the wrong hands, this could so easily have become yet another dreary family drama in the TV Movie of the Week tradition, but first-time director Robert Redford skillfully avoids all the cliches. His restrained direction ensures that the movie never descends into melodrama, and the big moments are superbly realised without the use of soaring strings or other Hollywood devices. Consequently, there is not a single moment that does not entirely ring true, and the movie is all the more heartwrenching for Redford's honest approach.

He is helped by a uniformly excellent cast. From all accounts, Redford is (as you might expect) an actor's director, and here he draws superb performances from two actors in atypical roles. Donald Sutherland is deeply moving in the difficult role of the father unable to comprehend why his family is falling apart, and Mary Tyler Moore is equally good as his emotionally repressed wife. The latter's performance is all the braver when one recalls that Tyler Moore's role mirrored her own off-screen turmoil at that time. For like the character of Beth in the movie, she too had recently lost a son, and was struggling to come to terms with her loss.

Judd Hirsch and Elizabeth McGovern are also impressive as, respectively, the psychiatrist and choirfriend who try to help Conrad, the troubled younger son of Tyler Moore and Sutherland. Conrad is played by 20-year-old Timothy Hutton in a mesmerising performance that will leave few viewers unaffected. Perfectly capturing the suicidal anguish of his character, Hutton rightly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in this pivotal role. (Though why he was not nominated for Best Actor is beyond me; his is, after all, the central performance in the movie). Given the degree of Hutton's talent, one can only look in dismay at the downward spiral of his career in recent years.

Ordinary People was one of the finest American movies of the 1980s, and its themes are as relevant today as they were two decades ago. I highly recommend this genuine classic.

Rating:
Summary: The Worst Ever Winner Of Best Picture Oscar.
Review: Not only the worst film ever to win the Best Picture Oscar but also how on earth did Redford win the oscar for Best Director, it's not as if it was a bad year, i.e. Raging Bull!
An absolute travesty on a par with the ridiculous wins of the Best Director Oscar for Warren Beatty in 1981, Kevin Costner in 1990 and Mel Gibson in 1995.
Can somebody explain to me how these part-time 'star' directors have all won an Oscar for direction when the likes of Hitchcock, Kubrick and Scorsese never have?

Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie.
Review: I can't expound on the beauty of this movie enough. I first saw this film about 4 years ago on the recommedation of my theater teacher, and fell in love with every single aspect of it. Aesthetically, it's so beautiful, with glimpses of gorgeous town and saturated with rich colors. I love the muted colors, the earth tones and grays and dark browns that surround Tomothy Hutton's cahracter, and how they contrast so sharply with the bright and crisp colors assigned to Mary Tyler Moore's Beth Jarrett. The strings of "Canon in D Major" are a perfect complement to the movie; it's the one piece of music repeated throughout the film. The writing is meticulous and intelligent, but never pretentious. It's also beautifully moving, without being melodramatic. The acting is magnificent. There's this one scene between Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern sitting in a restaurant that I love...I love the look of shock and empathy on her face after the camera reveals Hutton's healing wrists. This movie may not be a spectacular event movie or the coolest, most novel film ever released, but I'm always admired its quiet charm.

Rating:
Summary: 20 stars if I could for this GEM!
Review: I saw this movie when it came out, and I can still watch it today and have the same feelings I did when I first saw it - can't say that about many movies! I was kind of skeptical about Redford (the 'gorgeous guy') as a director at first, but 10 minutes into this movie, those 'worries' flew far away.

This is simply a brilliant film that deals very honestly about a family (although 'Ordinary' still seems odd to me, as we all don't live in affluent Chicago suburbs!) that is trying desperately to deal with a family death, and all the denial and emotions that surround it. Judd Hirsch is simply awesome as the psychiatrist that deals with the troubled Timothy Hutton, and they develop a very special relationship - one that ends up integrated with the father. The breakdown of the relationship between Sutherland and Moore is heartbreaking, yet all very believable in the context. It has me reaching for the hankies to this day!

Overall, this is still the BEST movie to date that I have ever seen that deals head-on with family tragedy, and does it with passion, class and honesty - not overblown drama and lots of songs and 'face shots' to cover up what the script could not deliver. I cannot say enough positive things about this great movie - get it or see it if you have not already!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I loved this movie because it was so real. I feel that audeinces of all ages can identify with at least one part of it, whether it be the pint of view of Calvin, Conrad or even Conrad's psychiatrist.
It is a cinematic wonder.

Rating:
Summary: "Extra" Ordinary People
Review: Why rich white people from a tony suburb are considered ordinary escapes me but you can't argue with Redford's take on dysfunction with a capital "D". Mary Tyler Moore so nails the ice-queen at-home ritz-cracker-serving WASP grande dame you just want to stand up and clap. Donald Southerland makes you believe he's either just been shot out of a cannon or consumed a bit too much Boodles; he looks like he's going to snap in nearly every scene. The real deal here, of course, is half-wit son vs. mom. If you watch just one part of this flick, catch the scene where the family is gathering for a group photo. Grandpa can't work the camera so surviving son goes postal on mom. Sort of like a Rockwell painting with Osama Bin Laden showing up in one corner; it's not pretty but you have to watch.