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Rating:  - Scorsese got robbed
Never in my life have I subjected my eyes and brain to anything so disgustingly pretentious as this movie. The acting is okay- a little overdone in my opinion, but acceptable- but no acting could save such a dreary plot. I found myself wishing all the characters would commit suicide in some colorful fashion- that's really the only ending that would have pleased me. I don't see how this movie could appeal to anyone but upper middle class WASPS; to anyone else these people are not ordinary, they are whiny bitches living far more privileged lives than they deserve. I don't mean to downplay the emotions that go along with losing a loved one, but I think that most people are too busy trying to make ends meet to obsess about it as single-mindedly as these people do. Most people might very well get terribly depressed, but I think they would do it with a little more dignity than this contemptible lot. I can't emphasize enough how utterly unlikable these characters were. What's worse, I couldn't even hate them- I only felt scorn. And if you don't care about a character, you can't possibly care about what happens to them. I would give this film 0 stars if I could.
Rating:  - One of the greatest family dramas ever made
Robert Redford's "Ordinary People" is one of the compelling movies ever made portraying a family's unravelling after the loss of a loved one. The acting is superb. The script is beyond reproach, based on a best-selling novel. This film received several well-deserved Oscars. A true masterpiece!
Rating: - The revealing truth about ordinary ORDINARY PEOPLE
If I could rate a film 10 stars then I would...so I will (who's stopping me!)
Robert Redford's directorial debut film ORDINARY PEOPLE is still the single,most profound revealing of the family full of secrets that must keep its thin veneer from cracking exposing the truth: ordinary people,you and I,our friends, our work companions,may be living a guise of happiness and perfect and complete tranquility, while all the while suffering severely from secret guilt and shame,and having no where to turn!
The film singlehandedly opened the doors for me,personally,in the Summer of 1980, to delving into my "perfect family" past.I can credit no other source than this Mary Tyler Moore,Donald Sutherland,Timothy Hutton,Judd Hirsch acted expose on what first coined the term "the dysfunctional family"-a phrase that hitherto was not known,but has become a household staple (pun intended)since this film was released.
ORDINARY PEOPLE is a timeless piece of art that will never go out of fashion.Why? Because the truth that this film enlightens never goes away:many (99% with the other 1% still in denial!) American families keep up appearances due to whatever their social standing in the community might be.In this film's case,an older son (Timothy Hutton) has been trying to keep on going in his teen years after the death of his younger brother in a boating accident.He returns home to the "perfect" family,Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland who present the idyllic upper middle class image.But there is something eerie and icy about this homelife that can only be seen from the inside.Everyone is affected by it, but no one can or is willing or is yet able to articulate what the problem is! Timothy Hutton seeks out a therapist (a deadpan,right-on clinician-type Judd Hirsch) who is the catalyst through which Hutton's character comes to full enlightenment about the worthless emotions of misplaced guilt.This enlightenment threatens the very thread bare fabric of this family, and the sparks start to fly in ways that still have yet to be captured on film with such nuance and accuracy.Only the films THE HANGING GARDEN and THE ICE STORM have even remotely approached the power of ORDINARY PEOPLE. This story is unparalleled IMO in the world of family dynamics.That this film was Movie of the Year still stands as a testament to the resilient direction and acting in this film... with no special effects,no car chases, no CGI...but rather the cream of the crop actors demonstrating their fine-honed craft and a then-young director with a vision to tell a story about ordinary people.
If you need to take a look at your family dynamics,then it started here and still starts here...ORDINARY PEOPLE!
Rating: - Heart Wrenching!
This movie is a must see for anyone dealing with (or not dealing with) pain. I won't rehash the plot of the film as many reviewers prior to me have done. I will say that I think Mary Tyler Moore's portrayal of the fragile ice queen Beth is excellent. Donald Sutherland gives an excellent performance as the sensitive and emotionally generous Calvin. Many have speculated that Beth doesn't love her son Conrad. I think she does love Conrad in her own way. After Buck's death (as Calvin so eloquently states at one point in the film) Beth has built an emotional wall which is the only way she can cope with her profound sense of loss after her eldest son's death. Another telling moment in the film is when Calvin tells Beth "We would have been ok if there hadn't been any mess." "You can't handle mess." This is the crux of the movie. How we all, in our own ways cope with mess. Some of us tackle it head on. Some of us choose to exit life at our own hands, and others choose to close themselves off emotionally because the pain is just to great.
Rating: - Ordinary People
Very good movie. Good for people training in therapy. Robert Redford is an awsome director!
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