[10]

Robert Redford directs this adaptation of Judith Guest's novel, about a family reeling from the accidental death of the eldest child. Unlike so many dramas, it's what you don't see and what isn't said that makes Ordinary People such a gut-wrenching, powerfully moving film. Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, and Mary Tyler Moore give superb performances as family members struggling to reconnect with one another after the tragedy. Hutton won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his raw, riveting portrayal of young Conrad Jarrett.  Moore plays his mother, an emotionally unavailable woman barricading herself from further distress by ignoring her family's problems, even after Conrad tries to take his own life. Sutherland plays the father, the mediator between mother and son, desperately trying to hold his family together. Judd Hirsch appears as Conrad's therapist, a savior shrink who forces Conrad to confront his guilt and fear. 

Robert Redford’s Oscar-winning direction is elegant and austere. He takes every measure to avoid sentiment and sap, starting with the absence of a traditional music score. Instead, we get Pachabel’s Canon in D, a procedural piece that doesn’t underscore the drama, but instead hints at the need for the Jarretts to keep going — to put the past behind them. Except for rare outbursts, Redford keeps the cataclysmic drama boiling under the surface. Dinner table small talk becomes heartbreaking.  Silence becomes deafening.  By the end, not everyone is able to overcome the past, but those left standing are stronger for their effort.

I’ve never been more emotionally invested in a movie than Ordinary People. The film shatters me every time I see it, both in its elegant storytelling and masterful execution. It’s my favorite motion picture of them all.

Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Hutton), Best Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent)

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress (Mary Tyler Moore), Best Supporting Actor (Judd Hirsch)