Ordinary People (1980)

Directed by

Robert Redford

Genre

drama film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 04m

Rated

R

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 701 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A wealthy family in suburban Chicago falls apart after a son dies in a boating accident and his surviving brother struggles with guilt and a suicide attempt. The parents and the surviving son each cope in different ways, straining their relationships with each other.

somberintrospectiveemotionally rawslow-pacedrestrainedmelancholicgrief-strickenintimate

What happens

Ordinary People is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of a wealthy family in Lake Forest, Illinois after one son dies in an accident and the other son attempts to die by suicide. It stars Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton. Released to theaters by Paramount Pictures on September 19, 1980, Ordinary People met commercial and critical success. The film grossed $90 million on a $6.2 million budget. Reviewers praised Redford's direction, Sargent's screenplay, and the performances of the cast. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 1980, and had six nominations at the 53rd Academy Awards, winning four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Hutton (the youngest recipient at age 20). In addition, the film won five awards at the 38th Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Actress (Moore), and Best Supporting Actor and New Star of the Year – Actor (Hutton). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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