shortcakehugs This movie deserves a 10 for me because I could relate to it. I don't want spill my guts about my childhood on here, but I think any family who has experienced a horrific life-changing event of losing a child/sibling needs to see this. It shows that we are all human, fallible and cope with death uniquely. It's important that the surviving family come together instead of lashing out at each other. Oh, and seek therapy!

HotToastyRag In 1980, Robert Redford proved to Hollywood he was more than just a pretty face by directing Ordinary People and winning the Best Director Oscar the following year. Really, though, did anyone think he was just a pretty face? By the time Ordinary People hit the theaters in September 1980, he'd starred in Neil Simon's most successful Broadway play, been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, been nominated for an Emmy, won three Henrietta World Film Favorite Awards, won a BAFTA award for Best Actor, won a Western Heritage Award, been nominated for four Golden Laurels, and created a little contribution to independent cinema called the Sundance Film Festival.In Ordinary People, Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore are grieving over the death of their favored son. Timothy Hutton, the other son, has spent four months in a mental hospital after an attempted suicide. He's far from well-adjusted when he returns to his dysfunctional family environment, and the film follows everyone's grieving process and how they adjust to their new "normal". This is a very tense family drama, and a groundbreaking film at the time.Moore showed an incredible new side to her acting talents, since this role was so different from her television roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I've actually never seen her television work, so it's hard for me to imagine her as anything but a serious dramatic actress. If that sounds silly to you, watch this movie and you'll understand. Moore was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars in 1981, and Hutton, who was only twenty years old, was and is the youngest actor to win Best Supporting Actor. I always say it's incredible to find child actors who are able to give a good, reliable performance, but it's equally incredible to see young adults who are terrific actors. Young children are used to taking orders from grown-ups, but young adults are at the age where they're starting to rebel from authority figures. They're just starting to discover who they are, and attempting to lose themselves in an acting role could feel confusing and unsafe. At the delicate age of twenty, Timothy Hutton gives a deep feeling, unforgettable performance.

FilmBuff1994 Ordinary People is a good movie with a well developed plot and a great cast. It is a very moving film as we follow a young boy struggling to coup with the loss of his older brother. It has some very hard hitting moments, and certainly does not beat around the bushes in terms of depression, the cast is all around impressive, the highlights certainly being Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore for me, who are both very convincing as a troubled couple who are trying to keep their son safe, while managing their own personal traumas. I did find the film to be very preachy on the subject of mental health, it was really shoving information on how to coup with it and maintaining a healthy one. There were times where the dialogue felt more like a theatre in education piece rather than two real humans having a proper, wholesome conversation. While it is one of the most vital parts of the movie, I found the scenes between Timothy Hutton and Judd Hirsch to be very poor. There was a complete lack of chemistry between them and Hirsch seemed very out of place in this therapist role. All of their sessions together seemed like Hutton was trying to give all he could, with Hirsch giving nothing back in return, he is a far better comedic actor. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I do not think it deserves the praise it has received, there are far better films with less Oscars. Not without its flaws, Ordinary People is still an impressive directorial debut from Robert Redford, I would recommend it if you are looking for a good drama, just do not go out of your way to see it. A young boy struggles to coup with his mundane life following the death of his older brother. Best Performance: Donald Sutherland / Worst Performance: Judd Hirsch

Dunham16 The novel is a psychological drama about a family seemingly having everything yet torn apart at the seams. The Jarretts are well settled and well fixed in the Chicagoland suburbs until a boating accident leaves one son dead and the other son mentally at wits end because he is of the opinion he could have saved his brother had he tried harder. Once the younger son is hospitalized for a suicide attempt the film opens as the bitter mother brilliantly portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore deals with her anxiety toward her now mentally at wits end son brilliantly portrayed by Timothy Hutton. His well meaning father played by Donald Sutherland recruits the aid of a psychiatrist played by Judd Hirsch to complete the principal cast. Supporting the younger son in his quest to return to normalcy are M. Emmett Walsh as his school coach and Elizabeth McGovern as agirl of his age interested in his company. Driving yet another wedge between father and mother beyond how to best deal with their one surviving son is their socieoconomic background differences which slowly come to light as the film brilliantly progresses. Because more commercial films include travelogues of the city of Chicago not of suburban Chicagoland another strong point of the film is its excellent travelogue of suburban Chicagoland's gold coast northern suburbs.