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#84 - Ordinary People
Robert Redford, 1980
Centres on an upper-class family that is still recovering from the death of its eldest son.
Another day, another Best Picture winner that managed to beat out a much more critically acclaimed classic and ended up having something of a backlash as a result. Instead of being a monochromatic examination of male violence like a certain other Best Picture nominee was, 1980's Best Picture winner is a low-key drama that examines the stilted life of the typical W.A.S.P.-filled American suburbia, especially when that community is thrown by the death of a beloved young person. It could just have easily been another mediocre attempt at manipulating an audience to tears, but to my surprise I actually liked Ordinary People.
Appropriately enough, Ordinary People is driven by its characters more so than any external developments (apart from the death that starts off the film, of course). Newcomer Timothy Hutton rightfully wins an Oscar as the youngest son, who manages to convey a wide range of emotions while still maintaining a consistently shy demeanour, which really helps to sell his inevitable outbursts and actions late in the film. His parents are also good characters - Donald Sutherland is predictably great as the caring but clueless father (and gets in one very gripping monologue at the end) while Mary Tyler Moore plays against type as the emotionally distant mother, with her disdainful attitude making her very easy to hate but she has more depth than you'd think. I also have to acknowledge Judd Hirsch as Hutton's new psychiatrist - while I'm more than a little inclined to see him as an early version of Robin Williams' character from Good Will Hunting, I don't consider that a slight against Hirsch at all, and it's his scenes with Hutton that rank among some of the film's best and most effective.
First-time director Redford doesn't try anything too ostentatious in terms of style - aside from some fairly attention-grabbing editing choices (both aural and visual), he's content to just rely on the strength of the script and the actors. It does lag from time to time and one may question the strength of the romantic sub-plot between Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern, but for the most part it's a solid drama and I was genuinely impressed with it.
Robert Redford, 1980
Centres on an upper-class family that is still recovering from the death of its eldest son.
Another day, another Best Picture winner that managed to beat out a much more critically acclaimed classic and ended up having something of a backlash as a result. Instead of being a monochromatic examination of male violence like a certain other Best Picture nominee was, 1980's Best Picture winner is a low-key drama that examines the stilted life of the typical W.A.S.P.-filled American suburbia, especially when that community is thrown by the death of a beloved young person. It could just have easily been another mediocre attempt at manipulating an audience to tears, but to my surprise I actually liked Ordinary People.
Appropriately enough, Ordinary People is driven by its characters more so than any external developments (apart from the death that starts off the film, of course). Newcomer Timothy Hutton rightfully wins an Oscar as the youngest son, who manages to convey a wide range of emotions while still maintaining a consistently shy demeanour, which really helps to sell his inevitable outbursts and actions late in the film. His parents are also good characters - Donald Sutherland is predictably great as the caring but clueless father (and gets in one very gripping monologue at the end) while Mary Tyler Moore plays against type as the emotionally distant mother, with her disdainful attitude making her very easy to hate but she has more depth than you'd think. I also have to acknowledge Judd Hirsch as Hutton's new psychiatrist - while I'm more than a little inclined to see him as an early version of Robin Williams' character from Good Will Hunting, I don't consider that a slight against Hirsch at all, and it's his scenes with Hutton that rank among some of the film's best and most effective.
First-time director Redford doesn't try anything too ostentatious in terms of style - aside from some fairly attention-grabbing editing choices (both aural and visual), he's content to just rely on the strength of the script and the actors. It does lag from time to time and one may question the strength of the romantic sub-plot between Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern, but for the most part it's a solid drama and I was genuinely impressed with it.