RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Ordinary People
Ordinary People

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Ordinary People (1980)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
91 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:29

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: Though shot through with bitterness and sorrow, Robert Redford's directorial debut is absorbing and well-acted.

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Devastated by the loss of their older son, well-to-do suburban couple Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) are trying to rebuild their lives after their younger son, Conrad... Devastated by the loss of their older son, well-to-do suburban couple Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) are trying to rebuild their lives after their younger son, Conrad (Timothy Hutton), attempts suicide. While Beth, who always favored the elder son, retreats into an icy, emotionless shell, Calvin tries to draw Conrad back into the family and into life as a teenager. Conrad sings in the choir and returns to the swim team, but both his brother's death and his own experiences traumatize him. Conrad reluctantly begins therapy sessions with Berger (Judd Hirsch), which allow him some respite from the unbearable grief and guilt he carries with him. As Conrad makes strides, Calvin realizes that he no longer knows his wife and is both saddened and angered by how seemingly emotionless she has become. A classic portrait of family life in the face of tragedy, Robert Redford's award-winning directorial debut is moving and thought provoking. Based on the novel by Judith Guest, the film features the debuts of Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern as well as breakthrough performances from Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland. [More]

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Basil Hoffman, Elizabeth McGovern

Director: Robert Redford

Director: Robert Redford
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch
Producer: Ronald Schwary

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Ordinary People

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Fully deserving of its many accolades.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/08
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For an Oscar-winner it's unusually bleak but the power is very carefully controlled.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/07/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An actors' movie and an advert for therapy, extremely bitter, but handsomely directed in its elegant pretentiousness.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
06/03/09
Christopher Orr
Christopher Orr
New Republic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/30/09
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

No review available.

comment Comment
03/19/09
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

An austere and delicate examination of the ways in which a likable family falters under pressure and struggles, with ambiguous results, to renew itself.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/09
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only reaching Chekhovian heights in its dreams.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/23/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A powerfully intimate domestic drama.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/20/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This dissection of family mores in upscale suburbia is emotionally effective but decidedly unsentimental--it's the perfect text for the feature directorial debut of Robert Redford, exhibiting restrained style with strong performances.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/23/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Robert Redford chose to adapt Judith Guest's novel as his first directorial effort, with impressive results.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/13/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film looks austere and serious, rather as if it had been shot inside a Frigidaire, and the oppressiveness of the images tends to strangle laughter, even at the most absurd excesses of Alvin Sargent's script.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/13/06
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

A beautifully acted film about the impact of a family tragedy on those who blame themselves and others.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
12/13/06
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

The 1980 drama hasn't aged well.

comment Comment
10/21/05
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

No review available.

comment Comment
10/07/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/06/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
12/21/04
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It is Redford's ability to let the movie breathe...that forces the viewer to experience the film on a visceral level.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
11/24/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

An intelligent, perceptive, and deeply moving film.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Ordinary People

April 07, 2009: Five Favourite Films with James Marsters
James Marsters is perhaps best known to audiences as the blonde-haired Sid Vicious-alike Spike on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The vampire who earned his nickname by... More...

February 26, 2007: How Does "The Departed" Rank Among Oscar's Best?
So Martin Scorsese finally has his long-overdue, much-deserved Oscar. But where does "The Departed" stack up in the annals of Academy history? More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts
53% 53% David & Layla

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
8
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
106
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
160
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
74
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
33
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
31
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
0
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Ordinary People at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.