Ordinary People (1980)
89%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Won 4 Oscars
19 wins & 14 nominations total
Though shot through with bitterness and sorrow, Robert Redford’s directorial debut is absorbing and well-acted
Ordinary People is a movie that will make you feel like you’re watching a family therapy session, but in a good way. The performances are top-notch, and the story is heart-wrenching. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion, but you can’t look away. Robert Redford’s direction is subtle, but effective, and the film never feels manipulative or melodramatic. It’s a classic for a reason, and definitely worth a watch. Just make sure you have some tissues handy.
Production Company(ies)
Gullane Africa Filmes, Globo Filmes,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lake Forest High School – 1285 N. McKinley Road, Lake Forest, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1980
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 3m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 1980 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 14, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, M Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth McGovern, directed by Robert Redford, written by Judith Guest, Alvin Sargent, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Richard Combs, David Robinson, Bruce McCabe, Gary Arnold, Kathleen Carroll, MPAA rating R, tragedy, family, guilt, suicide, psychiatric hospital, psychiatrist, therapy, emotional, mental anguish, alienation, reconnection, W.A.S.P., dysfunction, materialistic comfort, suburban life, middle-class, tragedy, grief, loss, death, therapy, psychiatrist, mental health, family dynamics, relationships, communication, forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, acceptance
Worldwide gross: $54,766,923
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $205,832,668
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 679
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 22,446,311
US/Canada gross: $54,766,923
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $205,832,668
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 333
US/Canada opening weekend: $170,335
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $640,177
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,347
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $22,550,035
Production budget ranking: 1,307
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,143,194
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $171,139,440
ROI to date (est.): 493%
ROI ranking: 261
Timothy Hutton – Conrad Jarrett
Mary Tyler Moore – Beth Jarrett
Judd Hirsch – Dr. Tyrone C. Berger
M. Emmet Walsh – Coach Salan
Elizabeth McGovern – Jeannine Pratt
Director(s)
Robert Redford
Writer(s)
Judith Guest, Alvin Sargent
Producer(s)
Ronald L. Schwary
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
19 wins & 14 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (60) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (6)
Ordinary People, consequently, has a closeness but not much expressiveness of texture.
February 4, 2020
Richard Combs
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
The director’s contribution is reticent and unobtrusive; his aim, not surprising perhaps in an actor, had been to give she stage wholly to the text and the performances; and both are, certainly, exemplary.
February 4, 2020
David Robinson
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The movie stands as a luminous portrait of the tragic tone and style of a middle-class life that aspires to nothing beyond materialistic comfort. It seems like a small tragedy. But it’s not.
April 26, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Despite the sponginess of the content, Hutton’s extraordinary film acting debut ought to assure his famous novice director a long, successful career behind the camera.
August 4, 2015
Gary Arnold
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
With the skill of a practiced surgeon, Redford gradually peels away the protective layers of his characters, exposing their flaws, their darkest fears and ultimately, their innermost feelings.
February 17, 2015
Kathleen Carroll
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Story of emotional honesty is best for older kids.
December 26, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
The 1980 Best Picture winner is an impressive study of how families CAN fall apart after a tragic death of son/sibling.
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
James Wegg
JWR
Reminiscent of the next generation movie theater version of the classic domestic Broadway melodrama, this is the original cinematic deep dive on grief and the usefulness of psychiatric therapy; an iconic, glib-free portrait of a frosty W.A.S.P. facade.
April 10, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Peter Canavese
Celluloid Dreams
Ordinary People could easily have been a facile movie that lapses into manipulative melodrama, but Redford never betrays the integrity of the material.
April 9, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Having been nominated for six Oscars and winning four of them, there is no arguing that Ordinary People is a fantastic film, and the cast is phenomenal.
April 7, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
The outward simplicity of Redford’s direction is staggering, yet his choices remain elegant and informed.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Episode 15: The West Was Red
September 1, 2021 | Rating: 70/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies…
Plot
Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast includes Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, and Judd Hirsch.
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