Line #62 Literature/OrdinaryPeople


1	[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ordinarypeople.jpg]]
2
3	->''"They are Ordinary People. And they are coming apart."''
4	-->--'''{{Tagline}} of the novel'''
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6	A 1976 novel by Judith Guest, ''Ordinary People'' was brought to the screen in 1980 as the directorial debut of Creator/RobertRedford. The film stars Creator/DonaldSutherland, Creator/MaryTylerMoore, Creator/JuddHirsch, and Creator/TimothyHutton.
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8	The story centers around the upper-middle-class Jarrett family of Lake Forest, Illinois: father Calvin (Sutherland), mother Beth (Moore), and teenaged son Conrad (Hutton). Prior to the events of the story elder son Buck [[PosthumousCharacter was killed in a freak sailing accident]], and Conrad -- who was with Buck when he died -- was committed to a mental hospital for four months after attempting suicide out of grief. Now he's been released, and we see the ways that the continuing fallout from Buck's death has affected the family. It's not pretty. While Calvin and Beth confront their own issues, psychiatrist Dr. Berger (Hirsch) tries to coax Conrad out of the emotional shell he's built around himself.
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10	The film won four UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture (for which it infamously beat out ''Film/RagingBull''), Director (Redford), Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent), 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.
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12	Not to be confused with [[{{Muggles}} non-magical people]], or with ''Series/NormalPeople''.
13
14	----
15	!! This work features examples of:
16	* AllLovingHero: Discussed between Conrad and Berger. Conrad's dad loves him, sure, but Calvin loves everybody. Berger replies with" so his opinion doesn't count because he has bad taste?"
17	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Buck is presented as exactly this to Conrad, as a more talented and more loved brother.
18	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[spoiler: Dr. Berger gets a few of these: "Maybe you were stronger. Did it ever occur to you that you might have been stronger?" Then, after a {{beat}} to let Conrad have it sink in: "How long are you going to punish yourself? When are you going to quit?"]]
19	* AtLeastIAdmitIt: While Calvin and Beth are arguing about Conrad during a golf game:
20	-->'''Calvin''': Can't you see anything except in terms of how it affects you?
21	-->'''Beth''': No! I can't. And neither can you, and neither can anybody else. Only maybe I'm just a little more honest about it.
22	-->'''Calvin''': Well, stop being so goddamned honest and start being a little generous, and start thinking of ''him'' for a while!
23	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Beth leaves her family, not knowing if she'll ever be capable of love again. However, Calvin and Conrad finally connect with each other.]]
24	* BrokenAce: Buck was TheAce in life, but it didn't save him from the sailing accident.
25	* BrokenBird: Beth.
26	* CallingTheOldWomanOut: Conrad, during a heated argument in front of Calvin, calls out Beth for never once visiting him in the hospital. When he says that Beth would have visited Buck if he was in the hospital, Beth coldly responds [[ParentalFavoritism "Buck never would have been in the hospital!"]] [[spoiler: Calvin later dwells over this argument, and starts to realize how much Beth may be hurting their son.]]
27	* CatapultNightmare: Conrad has one of these at the start of the film.
28	* TheChessmaster: Beth's interpretation of Conrad's depressive behavior; she insists it's all an elaborate attempt to manipulate Calvin, probably because [[spoiler:it's the only reason she can conceive of for why someone would act that way]].
29	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: More like "Lighting-Coded for Your Convenience". The Jarretts' house and all the other locations in the film are generally brightly lit and well-kept ... except for Dr. Berger's office, which by his own admission is untidy, and is always filmed in a somewhat noirish fashion. The fact that it's the one place in the film where Conrad can and must confront his demons is, of course, a complete coincidence.
30	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Averted with Calvin (more so in the novel than the film, though it's mentioned in both). He grew up in an orphanage in Detroit and, while he admits to Dr. Berger that he sometimes still feels rootless, he has a family and successful tax law practice and is not about to go anywhere.
31	* 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 after bringing home a Christmas tree quickly sours when Beth shows up and angrily confronts Conrad over quitting the swim team.
32	* DeadSparks: Calvin and Beth.
33	* DotingParent: 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 TheUnfavorite.
34	* DrivenToSuicide: Conrad tried to kill himself six months before the story opens. [[spoiler:Karen, a friend Conrad made during his stay in the hospital, eventually succeeds in doing so.]]
35	* EmptyBedroomGrieving: After Buck drowns in a boating accident, the Jarretts, or more specifically Beth, keeps the room preserved, to the point where she berates Buck's brother Conrad for entering the room and sitting on the bed.
36	* EvilCannotComprehendGood: While not evil, Beth believes Conrad is just manipulating his father because [[spoiler:she herself cannot love anyone, so she cannot see his grief over his brother's death and being TheUnfavorite as anything but a manipulation tactic.]]
37	* EvilMatriarch: Deconstructed; Beth tries to put on this facade in the wake of Buck's death, but that soon crumbles.
38	* 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 because [[spoiler:he treated it like a big joke until he was swept away by the surge of the waves.]]
39	* TheFilmOfTheBook: And an extremely faithful adaptation, too, largely because Redford requested Judith Guest's input on the film.
40	* {{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, as well as some moments with the family prior to the accident.
41	* FreudianTrio: The Jarretts fall squarely into this trope:
42	** TheMcCoy: Conrad (Stricken with depression and misplaced guilt.)
43	** TheSpock: Beth (Represses her emotions.)
44	** TheKirk: Calvin (Tries to mediate between the two.)
45	* TheGhost: In the novel, Conrad often recalls Dr. Crawford at the hospital who, like Berger, was helpful to him. But Crawford is never actually present diegetically.
46	* GriefInducedSplit: The ensuing trauma and grief from Buck's death that land Conrad in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt bring to light [[spoiler:Beth's coldness and inability to love. After the final time Calvin confronts her over this, she packs her bags and leaves.]]
47	* HonorThyAbuser: Book-only example. The film ends with an extremely open ending that leaves it very ambiguous what happens with Beth and Conrad's relationship in the future and even if they'll continue to have one. The book reveals that [[spoiler:they do, because Conrad ultimately came to the conclusion that Beth did the best she could and that he "needs" to forgive her.]]
48	* IceQueen: Beth freezes up when Conrad gives her a warm hug, [[spoiler:hinting to Calvin that she's not the warm, loving person he thought she was.]]
49	* InformedJudaism: Berger is likely the only character in the story who isn't a WASP. We know for certain he's Jewish by Beth's mother's tartly asking as much when the Jarretts mention his name at Christmas.
50	* {{Jerk Jock}}s: Conrad's swim team friends. No wonder he decides to quit. Again.
51	* LackOfEmpathy: Beth can't see that any of Conrad's pain is genuine, only he that he's trying to manipulate his parents somehow.
52	* {{Leitmotif}}: Music/PachelbelsCanon is so ingrained into the film that most people who know the film [[CantUnhearIt can't disassociate the music from the film]]. [[invoked]]
53	* LovingAShadow: [[spoiler:Calvin eventually realizes Beth was never the giving, loving person he thought she was, and is devastated to realize he doesn't really know her or love her anymore.]]
54	* {{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 novel, one of the essay questions on Conrad's English final concerns ''Literature/LordJim'').
55	* MoralGuardians: The book's themes and a brief sex scene between Conrad and Jeannine (which is mostly post-coital conversation) 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]].
56	* OscarBait: Albeit successful, as well as a long TearJerker.[[invoked]]
57	* ParentalFavoritism: Buck was always number one in everyone's eyes, especially Beth. This makes her post-Buck relationship with Conrad quite difficult.
58	* ParentalSubstitute: Arnold Bacon, in the novel, to Calvin.
59	* PointOfView: The novel's chapters alternate between the perspectives of Conrad and Calvin.
60	* PosthumousCharacter: Buck, as recalled frequently in the novel by his father and brother, and shown in brief flashbacks in the film. In the novel, Calvin also frequently recalls his relationship with Arnold Bacon, an older mentor who guided him from an orphanage to law school, until they had a falling out over him marrying Beth. He never reconciled before the older man died.
61	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Toward the end of the film, Beth encounters Calvin shedding some ManlyTears. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he confronts her:
62	-->'''Beth''': Calvin? Why are you crying? Can I, uh... can I get you something?\
63	'''Calvin''': I don't...\
64	'''Beth''': What did you say? Calvin, what did you say? Tell me!\
65	'''Calvin''': You are beautiful. And you are unpredictable. But you're so cautious. You're ''determined'', Beth; but you know something? You're not strong. And I don't know if you're really giving. Tell me something: Do you love me? Do you ''really'' love me?\
66	'''Beth''': [[FalseReassurance I feel the way I've always felt about you.]][[note]]After she says this, the look on Calvin's face makes it easy to see that he knows she just gave a NonAnswer to his question.[[/note]]\
67	'''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.
68	* 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 while in the hospital.
69	* ShoutOut:
70	** We learn that Conrad is reading ''Literature/JudeTheObscure'' in English class, and Karen's drama club is performing ''Theatre/AThousandClowns''.
71	** Conrad keeps Karen's phone number hidden inside a copy of ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''.
72	** When we first see Calvin and Beth in the film, they're attending a production of ''Same Time, Next Year''.
73	** In the novel, Calvin mentions that he's reading ''Literature/TheRiseAndFallOfTheThirdReich'' at a few different points.
74	* TheShrink: Dr. Berger, who serves as The Awesome Shrink. He ping-pongs Conrad's rage when he needs it and comforts him in all other times. Judd Hirsch's portrayal of him in the film is often recalled by ''Psychology Today'' as one of the most positive depictions of a psychiatrist in American cinema.
75	* SkewedPriorities: Talking with Dr. Berger helps Calvin remember a detail from Buck's funeral that he'd buried in the back of his mind: he'd been so distraught he could barely function, and when he started to dress for the funeral, Beth coldly told him not to wear the blue shirt, but a white shirt and different shoes.
76	-->'''Calvin:''' And I, for some reason, had been thinking about it and it suddenly occurred to me: what ''difference'' did it make what I wore to Buck's funeral?
77	* 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 actual love she was capable of feeling she invested in [[ParentalFavoritism Buck]] (who, it's implied, she mostly loved because he was TheAce and she saw him as an extension of herself), and when he died, she basically stopped pretending.
78	* {{Suburbia}}: The wealthy suburb of Lake Forest (and the Jarretts' unhappiness within it) is contrasted with 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). [[spoiler:Calvin and Conrad move to Evanston at the end of the novel.]]
79	* SurvivorGuilt: Conrad has lots and lots of this.
80	* TitleDrop: Midway through the novel, as Calvin tries to convince himself that things have returned to normal for the family.
81	-->They are ordinary people, after all. For a time they had entered the world of the newspaper statistic; a world where any measure you took to feel better was temporary, at best, but that is over. This is permanent. It must be.
82	* TricksterMentor: Berger can be like this at times.
83	* [[TheUnFavourite The Un-Favorite]]: Even when he was alive, Beth gave all her love to Buck and had none left for Conrad.
84	* UptownGirl: Mild inversion. Jeannine appears to come from a rather less well-to-do background than Conrad does, but it doesn't seem to be an issue for either of them.
85	* VillainousBreakdown: Beth's attitude isn't due to malice, but her coldness towards Conrad is pretty unfair. [[spoiler:When Calvin finally calls her out on this, telling her that Conrad thinks his mother hates him, Beth's composure breaks and she responds by not only shouting at Calvin, but also verbally attacking her brother, who calmly tries to reassure her.]]
86	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: As Calvin realizes in his conversation with Beth, she was more or less a relatively decent mother and wife. But when faced with the horrendous tragedy of losing a son, she revealed just how deeply unable she is to deal with trauma and her unwillingness to be supportive to her son or husband, or even to admit that she needs help herself.
87	* WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant: The Jarretts, very much so.

Context Literature / OrdinaryPeople