Ordinary People

A searing dysfunctional family drama that holds up very well today.

Living on Chicago's north shore as I do, I can say with authority that this movie completely nails a certain kind of affluent north shore community that exists in Chicago suburbs like Lake Forest, Winnetka, Highland Park, etc., places where people erect hedges and fences not so much to keep people out as to keep family problems and secrets in. Director Robert Redford and writer Alvin Sargent clearly understand their subject matter. And in fact, this film so closely mirrors many of the personal circumstances of my wife and her family (my wife even established a productive relationship with a Jewish therapist who works out of Skokie, no less), that we joke that the film is really about her. Maybe it's my closeness to the subject matter that gives me my appreciation of the movie, but even without that I still think that I'd consider this film to be a superb drama, flawlessly acted.

Speaking of the acting, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton were all recognized with Academy Award nominations (Hutton won) for their work in this film, all deservedly. Moore especially is memorable in her portrayal of a brittle power mom who must constantly hide behind a veneer of icy aloofness for fear that one tiny crack in her facade will send her crumbling to pieces. But two other actors deserve praise as well: Donald Sutherland, as a suffering father who's ill-equipped to deal with his family's problems yet whose heart is in the right place; and Elizabeth McGovern, who brings a sense of normalcy and healthiness into the film like a fresh breeze off Lake Michigan.

There's a lot of talk about whether this film is better than "Raging Bull," which came out the same year and lost the Best Picture Oscar to "Ordinary People," which only goes to show how lame award competitions are when it comes to movies -- how can you possibly compare the two? See them both.

Grade: A