Ordinary People | Rotten Tomatoes

Ordinary People

R

Released Sep 19, 1980

2 hr. 3 min.

Drama

TRAILER

for Ordinary People: Trailer 1

List

89%

104 Reviews

Tomatometer

88%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Tormented by guilt following the death of his older brother, Buck, in a sailing accident, alienated teenager Conrad Jarrett (Timothy Hutton) attempts suicide. Returning home following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital, Conrad tries to deal with his mental anguish and also reconnect with his mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), who has grown cold and angry, and his emotionally wounded father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch).

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Critics Consensus

Robert Redford proves himself a filmmaker of uncommon emotional intelligence with Ordinary People, an auspicious debut that deftly observes the fractioning of a family unit through a quartet of superb performances.

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Alec C

Tragedy can either bring people closer or drive them farther apart! As a family struggles to live with the death of the eldest child, each family member struggles to reconcile the fact that their family is falling at the seams until they learn to accept it. Each character plays the part of denial, guilt and depression with an elegant grace that brings us to tears every time we watch it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

Full Review

Allen R

Amazing performances and an engaging story that felt real in rich suburban america.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Brian S

I find it amazing that depression has not been explored more since the making of this film. Though it only scratches the surface of mental trauma it was groundbreaking stuff in 1980. Dare I say, still the more deserving winner over Raging Bull.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

Full Review

Jelisije J

One of the greatest films of all time that has aged gracefully over the years of a young teenage boy who tried to off himself after the accidental death of his older brother.....nail biting and heartbreaking at the same time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

Ryan J

There is a reason this film received best film of 1981, best actor (Timothy Hutton) and that is because it is a truly exceptional movie with performances that will remain indelible in film history. Ryan James Carson Tulsa Oklahoma

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/25/23

Full Review

jeanieforever

This movie is the benchmark for family drama cinema.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/05/23

Full Review

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Robert Redford

Director

Donald Sutherland

Calvin Jarrett

Timothy Hutton

Conrad Jarrett

Mary Tyler Moore

Beth Jarrett

Judd Hirsch

Dr. Tyrone C. Berger

M. Emmet Walsh

Coach Salan

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Ordinary People: Official Clip - Conrad's Breakthrough

0:54

Ordinary People: Official Clip - Conrad's Breakdown

0:33

Ordinary People: Official Clip - Mother and Son Photo

1:09

Ordinary People: Official Clip - We Never Had a Pet

1:07

Ordinary People: Official Clip - Mothers Don't Hate Their Sons

0:46

Ordinary People: Official Clip - Conrad Opens Up to Jeannine

1:31

Ordinary People: Official Clip - Love Ends

2:13

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Ordinary People: Trailer 1

2:21

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Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

It does not want to shock you, provoke you, frighten you, intellectually stimulate you, or even teach you anything you do not already know.

Aug 8, 2022

Full Review

David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

Putting it crudely, I don't think a first-time director should make such a display of his own sensitivity. What Redford reveals of the Jarretts just isn't surprising or complex enough to justify all this gravity.

Jul 15, 2022

Full Review

Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The movie is just as sanitized as the fantasy of upper-middle-class life it sets out to expose. And it’s just as empty and orderly.

Jul 15, 2022

Full Review

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

What makes Ordinary People special is how it treats mental illness and depression with sincerity and relatability.

Jun 27, 2023

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

While the subject content brings about some heavy themes that are not easy to discuss, Robert Redford hits it out of the park with Ordinary People.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 23, 2023

Full Review

Dann Gire

Chicago Daily Herald

Ordinary People is rare moviemaking and easily one of the best films of 1980. But to spurt volumes of superlatives would not do it justice. Redford's film is deceptively quiet and subtle.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 20, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Tormented by guilt following the death of his older brother, Buck, in a sailing accident, alienated teenager Conrad Jarrett (Timothy Hutton) attempts suicide. Returning home following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital, Conrad tries to deal with his mental anguish and also reconnect with his mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), who has grown cold and angry, and his emotionally wounded father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch).

Director: Robert Redford
Screenwriter: Judith Guest, Alvin Sargent
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Wildwood Enterprises
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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