+6
42.
Ordinary People
Don't get me wrong, I love this movie, I am one of the few people on the planet who thinks it deserved the Oscar for Best Picture it won, as well as the other four Oscars it won, including one for director Robert Redford. There is one reason that this movie makes this list and that is the character of Beth Jarrett, beautifully realized by Mary Tyler Moore, in one of the few Oscars the film didn't win. Pretty much every move this character made in the movie made me sick to my stomach. This woman made no bones about the fact that she preferred older son Buck to her younger son, Conrad (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) and even though she never says it, blames Conrad for Buck's death. This woman is so cold and unfeeling...she rarely uses Conrad's name, always referring to him as "he" or "him". There is an unsettling scene involving Beth's parents, where husband Calvin (Donald Sutherland) wants to take a picture of Beth and Conrad together and Beth is clearly uncomfortable posing for a picture with her son. There's a moment near the end of the film where Conrad hugs her and she physical recoils from his touch. I thought a moment of redemption was coming for the character when she's talking to Calvin about the family spending Christmas in London, but she wants to leave Conrad at home with his grandparents. I'm trying to think of something likable about this character, but I'm drawing a blank.
Last edited by Gideon58; 12-27-16 at 08:00 PM.