Ordinary People

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Ordinary People

Directed by	Robert Redford
Produced by	Ronald L. Schwary
Written by	Judith Guest (novel) Alvin Sargent (screenplay) Nancy Dowd (uncredited)
Starring	Donald Sutherland Mary Tyler Moore Timothy Hutton Judd Hirsch
Music by	Marvin Hamlisch
Cinematography	John Bailey
Editing by	Jeff Kanew
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	September 19, 1980
Running time	124 min.
Language	English
Budget	$6,000,000 (est)
IMDb profile

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.

1 Plot synopsis
2 Production
3 Reception
4 Cast
5 Awards
- 5.1 Wins
- 5.2 Nominations
6 References
7 External link

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Calvin and Beth Jarrett experience tragedy when their two teenage sons, Buck and Conrad, are involved in a sailing accident. Buck dies, and Conrad, who is tormented by survivor guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder, attempts suicide by slashing his wrists. When Conrad returns home from a long stay in a psychiatric hospital, he feels alienated from his friends and family. Calvin struggles to connect with his troubled son, but he has little help from his wife, Beth, who is cold, selfish, and obsessed with maintaining the appearance of perfection and "normalcy."

After a friend commits suicide, Conrad is once again in danger of succumbing to his depression. It falls on Calvin's shoulders to salvage his family. Conrad also benefits from seeing Dr. Berger, a psychiatrist who helps Conrad recover from his guilt and anger.

Spoilers end here.

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 LHS campus was too beautiful with its lakeside setting to be believable^{[citation needed]}, 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.

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.^{[citation needed]}

Finally, the film won Best Picture, beating Raging Bull. Bill Chambers suggests that for several reasons, Ordinary People was the superior effort.^[1]

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,^[2], although some consider him almost too good to be true.^[3]