Ordinary People? The son is suicidal, the mother is emotionally dead, and the father is Donald Sutherland. This family is anything but ordinary. It's the story of a family that, in the wake of the drowning death of one son, can't put itself back together. Robert Redford's directorial debut is solid, if decidedly cold, but the acting is first-rate. Timothy Hutton is excellent as the guilt ridden surviving son & Mary Tyler Moore goes as far from her TV persona as possible as his mother. Hutton earned an Oscar as best supporting actor, but he's in nearly every scene is very much the lead. The script by Alvin Sargent is quite incisive. It's a hard movie to sit through as it's not exactly entertaining. Nevetheless a great directing effort from Redford.
Review of Ordinary People
