Ordinary People (1980) Film Review: A Powerful Portrait of Grief, Family, and Healing

Ordinary People (1980), directed by Robert Redford and based on the novel by Judith Guest, is a haunting, emotional drama that explores the complexities of family dynamics, grief, and mental illness. The film follows the Jarrett family as they struggle to cope with the aftermath of a tragedy that has deeply affected each member in different ways. At its core, Ordinary People is a quiet yet devastating story about the emotional wounds that often remain hidden beneath the surface of everyday life.

A Gripping, Subtle Examination of Family Life

The story centers around the Jarretts, a seemingly "normal" upper-middle-class family living in suburban Illinois. The family consists of the father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), the mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), and their two sons, the older, deceased Buck and the younger, surviving Conrad (Timothy Hutton). The film opens with Conrad returning home from a psychiatric hospital after attempting to take his own life following the drowning of his brother Buck. As Conrad struggles to reintegrate into his life and deal with his overwhelming guilt, his parents, each in their own way, grapple with their grief and inability to communicate with one another.

The term ordinary in the title of the film is particularly poignant—it highlights the way the family’s internal turmoil is invisible to the outside world. On the surface, they are a well-to-do, “normal” family, but beneath the facade, they are deeply scarred by loss and emotional trauma. The film focuses on the complexity of dealing with loss in a family, showing how each member of the Jarrett family is dealing with the tragedy in their own way, and how they struggle to communicate their pain with one another.

Timothy Hutton’s Breakthrough Performance

At the heart of Ordinary People is Conrad Jarrett, and Timothy Hutton’s portrayal of the troubled teenager is nothing short of remarkable. Hutton, in his breakthrough role, captures the character’s emotional turmoil with a nuanced performance that is both understated and deeply moving. Conrad is a young man battling with intense feelings of guilt and shame, convinced that he was somehow responsible for Buck’s death. His depression and suicidal tendencies are palpable, yet Hutton’s performance conveys the subtlety of Conrad’s internal struggle—the quiet despair that builds within him and the desperate desire to heal.

Hutton’s portrayal of Conrad’s therapy sessions with Dr. Tyrone Berger (Judd Hirsch) is one of the film’s most poignant aspects. Through these interactions, Conrad begins to slowly confront the trauma that led to his suicide attempt. The therapy scenes are raw and emotional, and Hutton’s ability to convey Conrad’s fragility and his gradual steps toward healing is a testament to his skill as an actor.

Mary Tyler Moore’s Stunning Dramatic Turn

In a departure from her usual comedic roles, Mary Tyler Moore delivers a stunning and deeply emotional performance as Beth Jarrett, Conrad’s emotionally distant and perfectionistic mother. Beth is a character who embodies repression—she refuses to acknowledge the pain of losing Buck, focusing instead on maintaining a perfect, outwardly successful life. Her inability to confront her grief and her cold, almost clinical approach to parenting create a significant rift between her and Conrad. Unlike Calvin, who seeks to understand and support their son, Beth remains emotionally unavailable, unable or unwilling to express her pain in a way that would allow for healing.

Moore’s portrayal of Beth is masterful. She is a woman caught in her own emotional paralysis, unable to show vulnerability. Her complex relationship with Conrad—marked by guilt, denial, and an inability to connect—is one of the film’s most heartbreaking elements. Moore brilliantly portrays a mother whose love for her son is evident, but whose emotional distance makes it impossible for her to provide the support Conrad so desperately needs.

Donald Sutherland’s Compassionate, Quiet Strength

As Calvin Jarrett, the father caught in the middle of his wife’s emotional coldness and his son’s emotional collapse, Donald Sutherland delivers a performance that is both compassionate and deeply sad. Calvin is a man who is trying his best to understand his son, to offer him the emotional support that Beth cannot. Yet, Calvin is also struggling with his own feelings of inadequacy and his inability to make things right for his family.

Sutherland’s portrayal of Calvin is quiet but powerful. Calvin is a man who feels powerless in the face of his family’s pain. Sutherland conveys Calvin’s deep love for Conrad without needing to say much, creating a character who is emotionally grounded and full of empathy. His struggle to navigate the complexities of fatherhood and marriage, while trying to maintain his own sense of emotional stability, adds another layer of complexity to the film’s examination of grief.

The Therapy Sessions: A Crucial Part of Healing

The film’s exploration of therapy and healing is particularly significant. Conrad’s therapy sessions with Dr. Berger serve as an important part of his journey towards emotional recovery. The scenes with Dr. Berger are some of the most honest and revealing in the film, offering a glimpse into Conrad’s psyche and providing the opportunity for him to confront the trauma of his brother’s death and his own self-destructive tendencies.

Judd Hirsch’s portrayal of Dr. Berger is both warm and firm, offering Conrad the kind of tough love that helps him begin to face his emotions. Dr. Berger is not the traditional “caring” therapist; instead, he challenges Conrad to open up and take responsibility for his actions, all while providing a safe space for him to explore his feelings. The therapeutic relationship is central to Conrad’s healing process, and the film emphasizes the importance of communication, honesty, and vulnerability in overcoming personal trauma.

Themes of Grief, Guilt, and the Limits of Communication

Ordinary People explores some of the most difficult emotions that people experience in the wake of tragedy: guilt, grief, and the inability to express these emotions in healthy ways. Conrad’s sense of guilt for Buck’s death becomes a major theme in the film, as he internalizes the belief that he somehow caused the accident. His journey towards forgiveness, both of himself and of others, is central to the film’s emotional impact.

The film also examines the ways in which family members can fail to support each other during times of crisis. Beth’s refusal to acknowledge her grief and her failure to emotionally connect with Conrad create a wall between them, preventing any chance of healing. In contrast, Calvin’s willingness to listen to Conrad and support him through his pain creates a tentative bridge of understanding between father and son. However, even Calvin cannot fully break through the emotional barriers that Beth erects.

The film’s poignant ending is a reflection of the challenges of healing—there is no neat resolution, no simple closure. Instead, Ordinary People suggests that healing is a process that takes time, and it often involves learning how to communicate and confront difficult emotions that have long been suppressed.

Direction and Cinematography

Robert Redford’s direction in Ordinary People is subtle but effective. He takes a restrained approach, allowing the performances to speak for themselves while creating an atmosphere that is emotionally charged but never overly melodramatic. The cinematography by John Bailey uses soft lighting and muted colors to reflect the emotional tone of the film. The scenes of the family home, with its cold, clinical interior, mirror the emotional distance between the characters, while moments of warmth between Conrad and his father offer a glimpse of hope.

Conclusion: A Film About the Struggles We All Face

Ordinary People is a heartbreaking and powerful exploration of grief, guilt, and the complexities of family life. The film’s emotional depth, coupled with its exceptional performances—especially from Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, and Donald Sutherland—makes it a timeless portrayal of the challenges of coping with loss and the difficulty of moving forward. Ordinary People is not just about the trauma of a single event; it is about the ongoing, often painful process of healing, and how the people we love can either help or hinder that process. Through its sensitive and realistic portrayal of family dynamics, Ordinary People remains one of the most poignant films about human relationships and emotional recovery.