"Don't admire people too much, they might disappoint you."
Cal Jarett.
"They are Ordinary People. And they are coming apart."
Tagline of the book.
A 1976 novel by Judith Guest,
Ordinary People was brought to the screen in 1980 by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. That film, starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, and Mary Tyler Moore, won four Oscars, including Best Picture.
The eponymous Ordinary People are the Jarrett family of Lake Forrest, Illinois. They consist of Calvin the father, Beth the mother and their son, Conrad. Their elder son, Buck,
was taken out of the picture in a sailing accident by the time the story opens. Conrad, who was with Buck during the fatal accident, was committed to a psychiatric hospital for four months after he attempted suicide out of grief. When he's released, we see just how Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty in the least bit. Also in the picture is Dr. Berger, Conrad's psychiatrist, who might be able to help Conrad, and ultimately the family itself, come out of its shell.
Not to be confused with
non-magical people.
See also:
How Green Was My Valley &
Crash.
This work features examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Beth leaves her family, not knowing if she'll ever again be capable of love. However, father and son are finally able to connect with each other.
- The Chessmaster: Beth's interpretation of Conrad's depressive behavior; she insists it's all an elaborate attempt to manipulate Calvin.
- Crappy Holidays: Some of the drama takes place against the backdrop of the Christmas season.
- Dead Sparks: Calvin and Beth.
- Driven to Suicide: Conrad tried to kill himself just before the story opens. Karen, a friend Conrad made during his stay in the hospital, eventually succeeds in doing so.
- Doting Parent: Beth accuses Calvin of being positively fixated on Conrad. While Calvin does desperately want to make him happy, this only strikes Beth as unhealthy because she can't see Conrad as anything other than The Unfavorite.
- Evil Matriarch: Deconstructed; Beth tries to put on this facade in the wake of Buck's death, but that soon crumbles.
- Oscar Bait: Albeit successful, as well as a long Tear Jerker.
- Parental Favoritism: Buck was always number one in everyone's eyes, especially Beth. This makes her post-Buck relationship with Conrad quite difficult.
- Posthumous Character: Buck
- Power Trio: The Jarretts fall squarely into this trope:
- The McCoy: Conrad (Stricken with depression and misplaced guilt.)
- The Spock: Beth (Represses her emotions.)
- The Kirk: Calvin (Tries to mediate between the two.)
- The Shrink: Berger, who serves as The Awesome Shrink. He ping-pongs Conrad's rage when he needs it and comforts him in all other times.
- Suburbia: The wealthy suburb of Lake Forest (and the Jarretts' unhappiness within it) is contrasted against their humbler start in Chicago and the peace Calvin and Conrad find in Evanston (technically a city—and referred to as such in the novel—but still a suburb of Chicago). Calvin and Conrad move to Evanston at the end of the novel.
- Survivor Guilt: Conrad has lots and lots of this.
- The Windy City: Well, its far northern suburbs.
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