ORDINARY PEOPLE

'''Ordinary People''' is an Academy Award winning 1980 American motion picture drama and the directorial debut of Robert Redford. The story is about the disintegration of an upper middle class family in Lake Forest, Illinois, following the death of the oldest son. It was based upon the 1976 novel by Judith Guest.
The film was a critical and commercial success, winning that year's Academy Award for Best Picture and various other major film awards.

Contents

Plot synopsis

Production

Reception

Cast

Awards

Wins

Nominations

References

External links

Plot synopsis

The Jarretts, a WASP family from Chicago's North Shore, try to return to normal life after the attempted suicide of their teenage son, Conrad, who has recently come home following a long stay in a psychiatric hospital. Alienated from his friends and family, Conrad seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger, who learns that the boy had been involved in a sailing accident that killed his beloved older brother, Buck. Calvin Jarrett, the father, awkwardly struggles to connect with his surviving son, who is tormented by depression, survivor guilt, and post-traumatic stress disorder, but he has no help from his wife, Beth, who is cold, selfish, and obsessed with maintaining the appearance of perfection and normalcy.
As Conrad successfully works with Dr. Berger and learns to allow himself to have feelings, he starts dating Jeanine, a kind and nonjudgmental girl from his school choir, and begins to regain a sense of optimism. But the suicide of a friend threatens to send him spiraling back into depression. It falls to Calvin to confront Beth over her rejection of Conrad, and to Dr. Berger to help the boy relieve himself of overwhelming guilt and anger.

Production

The film was shot in and around Lake Forest, Highland Park and Lake Bluff, and the school scenes were shot in Lake Forest High School. Libertyville High School was originally considered as the location for the school scenes, but it was decided that the LFHS campus was too beautiful with its lakeside setting to be believable, and the decision was made to film at Lake Forest High School because it was more realistic and appropriate for the story. However, all of the pool scenes were filmed at Lake Forest College, due to adequate space not being available at Lake Forest High School.
Conrad's lunch with Karen was filmed at the Original Pancake House in Wilmette. A picture of Redford taken during production still hangs on the restaurant's wall.
The house used as the Jarretts is just around the corner from the house used in ''Risky Business'' two years later.
The film's use of Johann Pachelbel's ''Canon in D'' as its theme music boosted that piece's popularity considerably.

Reception

Some attention to the film centered around its performance at the Academy Awards. Robert Redford and Timothy Hutton both won Academy Awards for their respective debuts: Redford as a director and Hutton as an actor. However, the producers were criticized for only nominating Hutton for Best Supporting Actor, since his role was the major role in the film. The movie marked Mary Tyler Moore's career breakout from the stereotype of the light-hearted comedienne. Many felt that she did not win the Academy Award for this role solely because it was so out of character for her.
Finally, the film won Best Picture.
Judd Hirsch's portrayal of Dr. Berger has also drawn praise from many in the psychiatric community as one of the rare times their profession is shown in a positive light in the movies,^[1], although some consider him almost too good to be true.^[2]

Cast

★ Donald Sutherland : Calvin Jarrett

★ Mary Tyler Moore : Beth Jarrett

★ Timothy Hutton : Conrad Jarrett

★ Judd Hirsch : Dr. Tyrone C. Berger

★ Elizabeth McGovern : Jeannine Pratt

★ M. Emmet Walsh : Coach Salan

★ Dinah Manoff : Karen

Awards

Wins

★ Academy Award for Best Picture

★ Academy Award for Directing - Robert Redford

★ Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Timothy Hutton

★ Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay - Alvin Sargent

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Robert Redford

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama – Mary Tyler Moore

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Timothy Hutton

★ Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male - Timothy Hutton

★ WGA Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium - Alvin Sargent

★ Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures - Robert Redford

★ New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Picture

Nominations

★ Academy Award for Best Actress - Mary Tyler Moore

★ Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Judd Hirsch

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama - Donald Sutherland

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Judd Hirsch

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture - Alvin Sargent

★ BAFTA Award for Best Actress - Mary Tyler Moore

References

1. Martin, Linda B.; January 25, 1981; The Psychiatrist in Today's Movies: He's Everywhere and He's in Deep Trouble; ''The New York Times''; retrieved September 13, 2006
2. Pies, Ron; 2001 Psychiatry in the Media: The Vampire, The Fisher King, and The Zaddik; ''Journal of Mundane Behavior''; retrieved September 14, 2006.

External links

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