Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (72)
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J
Amazing how you can watch a movie and love it and then come back to it and wonder how you didn’t really hear any of it the first time
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E
It took 20 yrs, having kids and a pandemic for me to finally get how this could beat Raging Bull and Elephant Man for the Oscar. Sometimes it’s the quiet pictures…
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E
that sun-dappled therapy scene where conrad is draped over the armchair and his therapist is smoking a cigarette and you can see the smoke drifting through the sunrays and then the camera pushes in on conrad lit all orange and he’s trying so hard to explain how he feels but just can’t grasp at the right words: beautiful. i replayed it five times.
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L
Ordinary People came out in a non-snowy month in 1980. I know this because I walked home after the movie, even though I lived quite a hike away and it was an easy walk (I didn’t have to walk carefully as I would on snow or ice). It was nothing like the previous films I had seen. My previous favourite film was Grease, probably because it was the first film I’d seen on my own with friends; it wasn’t a Bruce Lee movie that dad took me to as an excuse to eat popcorn. Ordinary People came out in the age of Star Wars and Saturday Night Fever and Grease. My best friend Nicole and I went to see it,…
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L
when i was in high school, i dropped out of my calculus class so i could start going to therapy once a week. my dad would drop me off every friday morning, would go get breakfast when i had my appointment, and be there waiting for me to take me to school once i was done. i would then go to school like nothing happened, just trying to keep moving. i started going because the year before, my closest childhood friend committed suicide. for a year i convinced myself i was okay. but in that time, so much built up that i didn’t know how to process. i felt a sense of anger for how everyone around me seemed to…
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L
mentally i am in judd hirsch’s sunlit office & he is soaking up all the things i’ve blamed myself for
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S
this is basically a Good Will Hunting predecessor, 15 years earlier and done right. a slow burn family drama, an honest depiction of depression, anxiety, mental health and a wonderful cartography of a family nucleus and its toxic yet understandable dynamics. Mary Tyler Moore is a boss in this, her character is so horrifically narcissistic, it’s close to unbearable. Donald Sutherland slowly becomes more of a fleshed out figure as obedient represser during the runtime while Judd Hirsch is fun to watch in a tailor-made role as psychoanalyst (which – in typical negligent carelessness – is called a psychiatrist here). a very fitting autumn movie in light yellow and pale red.
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D
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L
Mary Tyler Moore shoves two pieces of french toast down a garbage disposal and it is alarming. Like when the mom in BLACK SWAN tries to throw the cake away. Oof, this is so honest, it hurts.
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M
“and if you can’t feel pain, then you’re not gonna feel anything else either”
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J
felt a little too personal for me aowkwkkw, emosi yg lu rasain tp gabisa lu ekspresiin dan juga sekeluarga kaga bisa komunikasi dgn bener. paket lengkap sudah.
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A
Have a heart Beth!
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N
It would’ve been better if as well as directing the film, he also starred in it
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C
I personally hold Robert Redford’s Ordinary People in the highest regards. This is a film about complex family dynamics, grief, guilt, and tragedy. The film navigates these difficult themes with a sense of grace in such a relatable and personal way. The screenplay of the film alone is deeply profound that features commentary on a family who even before the tragedy is falling apart. Every actor in the film understands their role so well that it creates an even deeper…
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L
I dont know what to say but i need to say something so, this is me saying something
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L
I’m shedding tears
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E
shouldn’t have related to this as much as i did…
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M
Bastante buena y dramática, siento que los segmentos con el psiquiatra son lo mejor de la película y como estos desembocan en las reacciones explosivas de la familia, lo que me molestó fue que pusieran la canción de boda como tema principal, ¿Quien chuchas se va a casar?.
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G
“Eğer acı duymuyorsan, zaten başka hiçbir şey hissedemezsin.” “Sonunda bana yardımcı olabilecek kişinin kendim olduğuma karar verdim.”
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“I hung on to that boat” If that doesn’t move you then i don’t know what will .
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K
ohhh me proyecto ver esta película me recuerda que no existe una forma correcta de afrontar una perdida, y también que hay gente que simplemente no está hecha para lidiar con ese tipo de situaciones es muy humana y muy bella, las actuaciones son increíbles y todo está increíblemente construido, la amo
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S
Feelings are scary.
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C
It’s a truly impressive feat to make Mary Tyler Moore unlikable.
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C
“feelings are scary. and sometimes they’re painful. and if you can’t feel pain, then you’re not going to feel anything else either.” so very raw and honest and moving!! great performances all around
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ZZach Williams 8 月 21, 2026
Definitely interesting how openly they’re talking about psychiatry at a time people thought it was a whole buncha hullabaloo Great performances all around Another movie that takes place in rich Chicago suburbs like home alone and Ferris beuller
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J
The glamor of a film, written like a play. Drama is perhaps the grandest genre of them all. Redford’s direction is incredible and Mary Tyler Moore plays a splendid villain. Sutherland is one of the icons too. Of course Hutton garnered the acclaim of the golden statuette as well. This walked so Goodwill Hunting could run.
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M
yo soy ese lol
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F
مشاهد انهيار كون ألذ حاجة شوفتها *I think i have pleasure in seeing boys crying*
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L
do not watch this movie on your period
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J
So intimate and emotional, obviously, that it feels huge to me. And I love that. Needed a good cry.
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A
movie begins with suicidal teenager in a flop sweat, ends with his dad telling him “i love you too”. simple, yet beautifully poetic.
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E
Added to my list of films that made me tear up at work. The performances are incredible. I noticed how little it relies on music to produce emotion, which I found impressive
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R
beautiful movie about why therapy is literally the most important thing that everyone ever needs to do and how running away from your problems is. Bad And Only Hurtful To Everyone Including Yourself. we’ve been on a fucking kick of just. Big Grief Movies 😭 time to go into wings of desire which is honestly a break from that lol!! OH also timothy hutton is so phenomenal in this. and he was my age when he won the oscar for this. crazy. he’s ridiculous. he’s phenomenal
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T
مشاهد الطبيب النفسي واقتباساته لافتة بحقيقتها عن المرء😕
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J
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B
اكثر شي عجبني فالفلم العنوان نفسه احب العناوين الي توصف الفلم بشكل دقيق ordinary people ناس طبيعيين عندهم مشاعر معقده ، اخطاء، خوف ، حب ، حزن و كل واحد منهم يتعامل مع حزنه بطريقته ما تحس انك قاعد تتابع فلم قد ما انك تعيش معهم
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🌜
Mix of Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting
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T
*Ordinary People* (1980), realizado por Robert Redford, é um daqueles filmes que não precisam de levantar a voz para nos deixarem emocionalmente exaustos. É um filme **intenso, doloroso e profundamente humano**, precisamente porque quase tudo acontece por baixo da superfície. À primeira vista, estamos perante uma família americana privilegiada e perfeitamente funcional. Uma bela casa, estabilidade económica, boas maneiras, rotinas organizadas. Tudo parece estar no lugar. Mas há uma ausência que ocupa todos os espaços: **Buck, o filho mais velho,…
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SsoIidsnake 8 月 19, 2026
grief is not something I have much personal experience with. that said, it’s something that everyone has to face one time or another and once it festers in you it never truly leaves. the scenes with the family all in one room were beyond suffocating. buck’s death hangs in everyone’s lips and circles around every conversation. an ever-looming shadow. every time anyone gets close, the conversation shifts compulsively to something silly and mundane. the desperate efforts to maintain a sense…
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B
Complicada relación de una familia tras la muerte del hijo mayor en un accidente y el posterior intento de suicidio del que sobrevivió
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K
this one was difficult.
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J
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N
good will hunting but on crack. i simply sobbed throughout
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M
i dont think anyone gives a shit about serious shit like this until it happens to you. like no matter what people say they aren’t gonna be there for you thick and thin, i think that’s the beauty of selfishness in humanity and how no matter how much someone says they are there for you they will most likely leave especially if they know they’re are someone’s anchor.
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F
I got three full pages of notes on this movie for my clinical studies class, I might have paid more attention to this movie than any movie ever
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S
oh winnetka…
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F
Ive been meaning to watch this film for the longest time and I’m so glad I finally did
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M
This movie beat both Raging Bull AND The Elephant Man to a Best Picture Oscar. I last watched this about 40 years ago and could never understand it. I mean, Raging Bull?!? The Elephant Man, probably one of the most emotionally affecting movies I’ve seen? But that was then. I’m a father now. I understand family dynamics. I understand repressing feelings. I understand loss. And now, from where I stand in the stream of life today, I get it. I…
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A
i have not gone through a loss as profound as conrad’s, but i have felt the way he felt. they got so much of this right, especially how these feelings are often rooted in (misplaced) guilt and regret. i need some time to process. donald sutherland & mary tyler moore were also extraordinary. this one hurt. watching this with my parents, I also found it interesting how different aspects of this movie resonated with us. i am grappling with conrad’s arc,…
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J
My favorite film of all time rewatched it the third time for this. As someone who hasn’t read the book yet, I absolutely loved this movie for what it is, a story about what so many families experience with grief, stress, and any kind of pain or anxiety To me the biggest highlight in this movie is Beth not only as a character but Mary Tyler Moore. She’s the highlight because she’s real, she’s raw, she’s faulty, she’s human THE…
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B
Nada que me duela más que ver en las películas que un protagonista que tiene una relación complicada con la madre. Juro que es mi punto sensible en cualquier entretenimiento que consumo. Pero por sobre todo el aspecto sensible, peor es cuando se trata de una relación de indiferencia. Ver cómo la madre no soportaba lidiar con todo lo sucedido y el trauma de perder a un hijo para recurrir a la opción de seguir con otras cosas y tener…
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Pprofharoldhill 8 月 19, 2026
Ignore the pressure to embrace your inner WASP, because the assimilation will suffocate you
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E
One of those movies where u have to find the beauty and meaning in the mundane
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Kkaleigh g 8 月 18, 2026
“You’re here and you’re alive. Now don’t tell me you don’t feel that.” “It doesn’t feel good.” “It is good.” This movie felt way too personal. WAAYYYYY too personal.
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D
If I ever see this movie on a list of “Worst Oscar Winners” I’ll punch them! This is really difficult material to tackle and I give full props to Robert Redford, Mary Tyler Moore and the rest of the cast and crew for giving us a picture that shows us how to deal with our feelings in the healthiest way possible and what can happen when we simply stop trying.
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S
I swear to God there is nothing wrong with me nor am I going through anything, I’m just a sucker for good character-driven dramas. Judd Hirsch – maybe the best performance of a therapist Donald Sutherland – elite-level father Mary Tyler Moore – still maybe one of the worst mothers in cinema history, like so bad actual psychiatrists/psychologists can write articles how it’s one of the most accurate portrayals of narcissism
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R
This movie might be a little less than what it made me thought of while watching it. However, very smart considering the age of the movie and the subjects adressed. Why don’t you give yourself a break ?
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J
Melodramatic maybe, but it got the tone spot on. Excellent acting from Sutherland. Interesting to think about how we saw mental health 45 years ago. Felt something watching it, which is more than I can say for most films.
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A
Happy 90th Birthday, Robert Redford. How amazing to have your directorial debut be a gut wrenching exploration of grief & depression. Everyone giving career best performances, but this time around…I was deeply impacted by Donald Sutherland’s beautiful performance. I still feel The Elephant Man or Raging Bull deserved Best Picture AND Best Director more, but a brilliant classic.
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T
This was amazing. It might be a 5… still need to think about it. Update – it’s a 5. These characters are so well-written and nuanced. And perfectly acted.
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O
Happy Birthday Mr. Redford 🎂 . I do like to hear Pachelbel’s canon
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B
Ordinary people is a movie that will take your heart and smash it to pieces, but then carefully rebuild it with a stronger material. Anyone going through mental problems can relate to the main character and his feeling of guilt for something that was out of his control. Donald Sutherland does amazingly as a supporting dad to his son, which cannot be said for Mary Tyler Moore’s character. I wonder how much inspiration, if any at all, did Good Will…
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J
The real-life house that is the home of the fictional Jarrett family is a 7,700-square-foot red-brick Georgian mansion built in 1907, set on 2.5 acres, and featuring professionally landscaped gardens among other amenities. On Monday, September 15, 2025, it was listed for sale for $7,490,000. On Tuesday, September 16, Robert Redford died; he had made his directorial debut with this film adaptation of Judith Guest’s first published novel. The film’s setting of Lake Forest, Illinois, is a real place, an…
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F
2️⃣ – Friends Recommend: Clown Edition 🤡
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N
Heartbreaking
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V
Esta obra apresenta personagens brilhantemente construídos — com destaque para Conrad —, cujas atuações impecáveis e diálogos orgânicos retratam as lutas familiares e o processamento do trauma de forma incrivelmente genuína e comovente. A história me atingiu de maneira profundamente íntima e devastadora por conta de um revés do enredo que eu desconhecia, proporcionando uma experiência tão dolorosa quanto inesquecível. Embora o peso emocional torne muito difícil a ideia de revê-lo um dia, considero este um dos filmes mais marcantes da minha vida e sinto uma imensa gratidão a Redford por ter concebido esta obra.
- Synopsis
- Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.
- Director
- Robert Redford
- Writer
- Alvin Sargent
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures, Wildwood Enterprises
- Country
- USA
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1980
- Runtime
- 124 mins
- USA19 Sep 1980
- UK02 Oct 1980
- Sweden02 Mar 1981
- Finland06 Mar 1981
- France11 Mar 1981
- Norway13 Mar 1981
- Japan21 Mar 1981
- Poland01 Jan 1983
- Hungary13 Jun 1985
- Netherlands14 Jan 2008
- Netherlands09 Feb 2002
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