Review of Ordinary People (1980) by Matthew B — 07 Jan 2011

Robert Redford unsurprisingly did nothing here that Ang Lee would not do much more elegantly and effectively with The Ice Storm. Moreover, this film, even since 1980, has not aged very elegantly. What is intriguing about this shattering glimpse into the lives of a frayed, disintegrating family is the excellence of the four central performances - Donald Sutherland (weary and immensely believable), Mary Tyler Moore (shockingly excellent as the horrid mother Beth, wrapped up in her frigid, aesthetic little world), Judd Hirsch (seemingly unidiomatic but actually quite wonderful as Berger - not unlike Robin Williams' superlative work in Good Will Hunting), and Timothy Hutton (magnificent, particularly in the latter half of the film, and deeply moving).