It's about a family trying to deal with a tragedy and coping with the death of a love one. Conrad (Timothy Hutton) and his brother Buckey had a boating accident that lead to Buckey's demise. Feeling guilty for his brother's death, Conrad at some point, tried to take his own life and end up spending some time in a mental institution. When Conrad returns home, where the movie takes place, it is Calvin (Donald Sutherland) the dad, that tries to keep the family together. It's obvious the mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) have some animosity towards her own son Conrad. It seems that she blames Conrad for Buckey's death and is now very cold towards him. She shows no affection towards Conrad and excludes him from a family vacation. She also lash out at Calvin for speaking about their son's mental problem with a friend and hates when Calvin sticks up for Conrad. She also believes their family targedy should be private. Conrad notices his mother lack of affection and begins to lash out himself while Calvin tries to keep the peace. In the end, Beth leaves because Calvin tells her he's not sure if he loves her any more because of her demeanor towards them.
In all, this is a great movie, very realistic. It's a story we all can relate too because we're all ordinary people at some point. On a scale from 1-5, 5 being best, Ordinary People deserves a 4.5 in my opinion. Though it was a good movie to watch, I wouldn't say it's one of the best movie I've ever seen. But it was very dramatic. If you really want to see a good movie this weekend, pick up or rent Ordinary People. You wont be disappointed, I guarantee that. Enjoy.
Ordinary People
