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Ordinary People Movie Poster
Plot, Details & Awards

Ordinary People

(1980)
R In Theaters 09/19/1980 , 124min.
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Plot & Details

Robert Redford's directorial debut ended up the 1980 Oscar winner for Best Picture. It is a simple but painfully emotional story of the disintegration of a "perfect" family. Teenager Conrad (Timothy Hutton) lives under a cloud of guilt after his brother drowns after their boat capsizes in Lake Michigan. Despite intensive therapy sessions with his psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch), Conrad can't shake the belief that he should have died instead of his brother; nor do his preoccupied parents (Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore) offer much in the way of solace. The boy is brought out of his doldrums through his romance with Jeannine (Elizabeth McGovern). A winner in every respect, Ordinary People (adapted from the novel by Judith Guest) scores highest in the scenes with Mary Tyler Moore, who superbly and perceptively portrays a blinkered, ever-smiling suburban wife and mother for whom outward appearance is all that matters.
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • Genre(s): Drama
  • Run Time: 124min.
  • Theatrical Release Date: 09/19/1980
  • DVD Release Date: 08/14/2001
  • Distributor(s): Paramount
  • Director(s): Robert Redford
  • Starring: Donald Sutherland , Mary Tyler Moore , Judd Hirsch , Timothy Hutton , Elizabeth McGovern
  • Themes: Suicide,Families in Crisis,Therapy,Dysfunctional Families,Suburban Dysfunction,Fathers and Sons,Mothers and Sons,Death of a Child,Haunted By the Past
  • Tone: Autumnal,Tearjerking,Intimate,Melancholy,Somber
  • Keywords: accident,child,coming-of-age,death,death-in-family,drowning,dysfunctional,family,family-member,family-tragedy,forbidden-love,guilt,relationship,suicide,suicide-attempt,teenagers,tension,wealth
  • Language: English

Awards

Academy Awards

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor Timothy Hutton Won
1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture Ronald L. Schwary Won
1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor Judd Hirsch Nominated
1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director Robert Redford Won
1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Alvin Sargent Won
1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress Mary Tyler Moore Nominated

Golden Globes

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay Alvin Sargent Nominated
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Mary Tyler Moore Won
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama Won
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association New Star of the Year - Male Timothy Hutton Won
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama Donald Sutherland Nominated
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Judd Hirsch Nominated
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Timothy Hutton Won
1980 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director Robert Redford Won
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