History Literature / OrdinaryPeople

** In the novel, Calvin mentions that he's reading ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'' at a few different points.

The film won four UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture (for which it infamously beat out ''Film/RagingBull''), Director (Redford), Adapted Screenplay (Creator/AlvinSargent), and Supporting Actor (Hutton). Moore and Hirsch were also nominated for their performances. The cast also includes Creator/MEmmetWalsh as Conrad's swim-team coach; Creator/ElizabethMcGovern as Jeannine, a classmate whom he begins dating; Creator/FredricLehne as Lazenby, a friend since childhood from whom he has been pulling away since the accident; and Creator/DinahManoff as Karen, a fellow patient he befriended at the hospital.

'''Calvin''': (''after a pause'') We would have been all right, if there hadn't been any mess. But you can't handle mess. You need everything neat and easy. I don't know, maybe you can't love anybody. It was so much Buck. When Buck died, it was as if you buried all your love with him, and I don't understand that, I just don't know, I don't... maybe it wasn't even Buck; maybe it was just you. Maybe, finally, it was the best of ''you'' that you buried. But, whatever it was... I don't know who you are. And I don't know what we've been playing at. So I was crying. Because I don't know if I love you anymore. And I don't know what I'm going to do without that.

* TheSociopath: Beth seems to be a high-functioning, realistic version. She's not sadistic or cruel, but underneath her superficial charm (shallow affect) and socialite exterior (pathological need for stimulation in the form of parties, dinners, vacation trips and other events) she is incapable of loving or [[LackOfEmpathy truly empathizing]] with anyone. It's implied she learned to fake superficial emotions like love and attachment from an early age (since [=WASP=] culture is pretty shallow to begin with), but is a cold ControlFreak underneath. What little love she felt for anyone she invested in [[ParentalFavoritism Buck]] (whom it's implied she only loved because he was TheAce and she saw him as an extension of herself), and when he died, she basically stopped pretending.

The film won four UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture (for which it [in]famously beat out ''Film/RagingBull''), Director (Redford), Adapted Screenplay (Creator/AlvinSargent), and Supporting Actor (Hutton). Moore and Hirsch were also nominated for their performances. The cast also includes Creator/MEmmetWalsh as Conrad's swim-team coach; Creator/ElizabethMcGovern as Jeannine, a classmate whom he begins dating; Creator/FredricLehne as Lazenby, a friend since childhood from whom he has been pulling away since the accident; and Creator/DinahManoff as Karen, a fellow patient he befriended at the hospital.

The film won four UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture (for which it famously beat out ''Film/RagingBull''), Director (Redford), Adapted Screenplay (Creator/AlvinSargent), and Supporting Actor (Hutton). Moore and Hirsch were also nominated for their performances. The cast also includes Creator/MEmmetWalsh as Conrad's swim-team coach; Creator/ElizabethMcGovern as Jeannine, a classmate whom he begins dating; Creator/FredricLehne as Lazenby, a friend since childhood from whom he has been pulling away since the accident; and Creator/DinahManoff as Karen, a fellow patient he befriended at the hospital.

* {{Meaningful Name}}s: Calvin and Conrad. The former suggests John Calvin, a theologian of UsefulNotes/TheProtestantReformation, and the character's work ethic; the latter, author Creator/JosephConrad and the conflicted characters in his works (in the book, one of the essay questions on Conrad's English final concerns ''Literature/LordJim'').

* FatalFlaw: Buck was TheAce and [[ParentalFavoritism The Favorite]] in life, but never took anything seriously. His dad would often have to get on his case about chores and school because he always took things in stride. The film makes it clear that the reason he didn't survive the boating accident was [[spoiler:he treated it like a big joke until he was swept away by the surge of the waves.]]

* UptownGirl: Mild inversion. Jeannine appears to come from a somewhat less well-to-do background than Conrad does, but it doesn't seem to be an issue for either of them.

The story centers around the Jarrett family of Lake Forest, Illinois: father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore), and younger son Conrad (Hutton). Prior to the events of the story, elder son Buck [[PosthumousCharacter was taken out of the picture in a sailing accident]], and Conrad -- who was with Buck when he died -- was committed to a psychiatric hospital for four months after attempting suicide out of grief. Now he's been released, and we see the ways in which Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty in the least bit. Also in the picture is psychiatrist Dr. Berger (Hirsch), who works to coax Conrad out of the emotional shell he's constructed for himself while Calvin and Beth deal with their own issues.

The film won four UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture (famously beating out ''Film/RagingBull''), Director (Redford), Adapted Screenplay (Creator/AlvinSargent), and Supporting Actor (Hutton). Moore and Hirsch were also nominated for their performances. The cast also includes Creator/MEmmetWalsh as Conrad's swim-team coach; Creator/ElizabethMcGovern as Jeannine, a classmate who he begins dating; Creator/FredricLehne as Lazenby, a friend since childhood who he's been pulling away from; and Creator/DinahManoff as Karen, a fellow patient he befriended at the hospital.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Coach Salan is very sympathetic to Conrad's situation and tries to accommodate him, such as holding private practice sessions to make up for time missed through doctor's appointments. That said, he doesn't take Conrad's decision to quit the swim team well. And he makes some rather insensitive remarks about the electroshock therapy Conrad underwent in the hospital.

* CrappyHolidays: Some of the drama takes place against the backdrop of the Christmas and New Year season. A scene of Calvin and Conrad happily bonding over bringing home a Christmas tree quickly sours when Beth shows up and angrily confronts Conrad over quitting the swim team.

* {{Flashback}}: In the novel, Conrad recalls the accident that killed Buck in greater and greater detail as the story proceeds, culminating in him realizing he doesn't have to feel [[SurvivorsGuilt guilty about being the one who survived]]. The film also has flashbacks of the accident, and of some moments with the family prior to the accident.

The story centers around the Jarrett family of Lake Forest, Illinois: father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore), and younger son Conrad (Hutton). Prior to the events of the film, elder son Buck [[PosthumousCharacter was taken out of the picture in a sailing accident]], and Conrad -- who was with Buck when he died -- was committed to a psychiatric hospital for four months after attempting suicide out of grief. Now he's been released, and we see the ways in which Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty in the least bit. Also in the picture is psychiatrist Dr. Berger (Hirsch), who works to coax Conrad out of the emotional shell he's constructed for himself while Calvin and Beth deal with their own issues.

The story centers around the Jarrett family of Lake Forest, Illinois: father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore), and their younger son Conrad (Hutton). Prior to the events of the film their elder son, Buck, [[PosthumousCharacter was taken out of the picture in a sailing accident]], and Conrad, who was with Buck when he died, was committed to a psychiatric hospital for four months after attempting suicide out of grief. Now he's been released, and we see the ways in which Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty in the least bit. Also in the picture is Dr. Berger (Hirsch), a psychiatrist who works to coax Conrad out of the emotional shell he's constructed for himself while Calvin and Beth deal with their own issues.

The story centers around the Jarrett family of Lake Forest, Illinois: father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore), and their younger son Conrad (Hutton). Prior to the events of the film the elder son, Buck, [[PosthumousCharacter was taken out of the picture in a sailing accident]], and Conrad, who was with Buck when he died, was committed to a psychiatric hospital for four months after attempting suicide out of grief. Now he's been released, and we see the ways in which Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty in the least bit. Also in the picture is Dr. Berger (Hirsch), a psychiatrist who works to coax Conrad out of the emotional shell he's constructed for himself while Calvin and Beth deal with their own issues.

The story centers around the Jarrett family of Lake Forest, Illinois: father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore), and their younger son Conrad (Hutton). Prior to the events of the story the elder son, Buck, [[PosthumousCharacter was taken out of the picture in a sailing accident]], and Conrad, who was with Buck when he died, was committed to a psychiatric hospital for four months after attempting suicide out of grief. Now he's been released, and we see the ways in which Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty in the least bit. Also in the picture is Dr. Berger (Hirsch), a psychiatrist who works to coax Conrad out of the emotional shell he's constructed for himself while Calvin and Beth deal with their own issues.

* Leitmotif: Music/PachabelsCanon is so ingrained into the film that most people who know the film [[CantUnhearIt can't disassociate the music from the film]]. [[invoked]]

* MoralGuardians: The book's themes and a brief sex scene between Conrad and Jeannine have sometimes led to it being [[http://books.google.com/books?id=KjbxM4CshdIC&pg=PA253&lpg=PA253&dq=ordinary+people+banned&source=bl&ots=XrfCUhachw&sig=W4H5GrWxb7WyBx7WGje-MSSITdc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2lzMT8mtBsHN6QHJtqAj&ved=0CGEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=ordinary%20people%20banned&f=false pulled off school library shelves]].

* {{Flashback}}: In the novel, Conrad recalls the accident that killed Buck in greater and greater detail as the story proceeds, culminating in him realizing he doesn't have to feel [[SurvivorsGuilt guilty about being the one who survived]]. The film also has a couple of flashbacks with the family prior to the accident.

* {{Flashback}}: In the novel, Conrad recalls the accident that killed Buck in greater and greater detail as the story proceeds, culminating in him realizing he doesn't have to feel [[SurvivorsGuilt guilty about being the one who survived]]. The film also has a couple of flashbacks with Buck.