Review of Ordinary People (1980) by Aaron G — 08 Jun 2016
Ordinary People is great because it could be released today or 50 years from now without losing its power or relevance. Even though its shown from the perspective of white middle and upper middle class characters, the realistic portrayal of how the withholding, denial, and repression of emotions and thoughts can effect families has universal relevance.
It also offers keen insight into how our society processes death in all forms and why simply opening up ourselves to the ones we love can be so hard. Those familiar with Mary Tyler Moore only as a perky sitcom actress will have difficulty recognizing the ice cold loveless mother she portrays here.
A young Timothy Hutton is wonderful as a teenage boy coping with the tragic death of his older brother, and Donald Sutherland is excellent playing a father who uses blinders to shut out the slow disintegration of his family.
This review of Ordinary People (1980) was written by Aaron G on 08 Jun 2016.
Ordinary People has generally received very positive reviews.
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