Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 08/28/2001
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: 5.1/1
Run Time: 124 min
Flags: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity, Watch With Your Teen
Distributor/Studio: Paramount
Robert Redford's directorial debut ended up the 1980 Oscar winner for Best Picture. It is a simple but painfully emotional story of the disintegration of a "perfect" family. Teenager Conrad (
Timothy Hutton) lives under a cloud of guilt after his brother drowns after their boat capsizes in Lake Michigan. Despite intensive therapy sessions with his psychiatrist (
Judd Hirsch), Conrad can't shake the belief that he should have died instead of his brother; nor do his preoccupied parents (
Donald Sutherland and
Mary Tyler Moore) offer much in the way of solace. The boy is brought out of his doldrums through his romance with Jeannine (
Elizabeth McGovern). A winner in every respect,
Ordinary People (adapted from the novel by
Judith Guest) scores highest in the scenes with Mary Tyler Moore, who superbly and perceptively portrays a blinkered, ever-smiling suburban wife and mother for whom outward appearance is all that matters.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide