Ordinary people places the “modern middle-class American family” under a microscope. Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland are the ideal couple, until their lives are shattered by the tragic death of their oldest son in a boating accident. Their perfect world is turned upside down as their youngest son, (Timothy Hutton) attempts suicide in order to ease the burden of guilt. An empathetic psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch), provides the teenager with a lifeline on the road to recovery. Mary Tyler Moore’s performance as the cold and aloof mother is outstanding. Donald Sutherland as the weak, ineffectual but loving father, grapples to come to terms with the tensions in his family relationships to which he was oblivious. Compelling and moving, “Ordinary people” is an outstanding directorial debut by Robert Redford. Based on novel by Judith Guest.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
306330
Language
English
Audience classification
MA
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Academy awards (Motion pictures)
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers - Family relationships
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Death - Psychological aspects
Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)