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Ordinary People (1980)
In actor Robert Redford's directorial debut film -
an intense psychological drama (an adaptation of the Judith Guest
novel by Alvin Sargent) about a tragically torn-apart family living
in Lake Forest, IL, often accentuated with the brilliant mood-setting
use of Johann Pachelbel's mournful adagio Canon in D Major:
- the moving scenes of suicidal, guilt-ridden 18 year-old
high-school student Conrad "Con" Jarrett (Oscar-winning
Timothy Hutton) with severe PTSD, admitting his feelings of fault
about his older teenaged brother Buck's (Scott Doebler) accidental
drowning (during a sailing trip revealed over the course of the
film by flashbacks) in his late-night counseling sessions with
his sometimes unorthodox psychiatrist Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch)
Conrad's Traumatic Memories Told to Therapist
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Conrad "Con" Jarrett
(Timothy Hutton)
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Dr. Berger
(Judd Hirsch)
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Fateful Drowning of Conrad's Brother Buck
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- the icy portrayal of grieving, hostile, bitter,
composed and rejecting mother Beth Jarrett (Mary Tyler Moore);
she had a revealing conversation with Conrad about their family's
lack of pets: Conrad: "That was the closest we ever came to
having a pet"
- the picture-taking scene at Christmas-time, when Beth
deflected an effort by her warm-hearted and compassionate husband
Calvin (Donald Sutherland) to attempt to take a picture of her with
Conrad; when Calvin struggled with the camera for a moment, Beth
walked out of the shot and kept asking for him to give her the camera,
while Conrad became furious and swore at his father - in front of
his grandparents: "Give her the god-damn camera!"
- the scene of Conrad's discussion at a McDonalds with
close female student-friend Jeannine Pratt (Elizabeth McGovern) about
his despairing suicide attempt by slitting his wrists: (Conrad: "You're
the first person who's asked" Jeannine: "Why'd you do it?" Conrad:
"Uh, I don't know. It was like falling into a hole, it was like
falling into a hole and it keeps getting bigger and bigger and you
can't get out. And then, all of a sudden, it's inside and you're the
hole. And you're trapped and it's all over. Something like that. It's
not really scary except when you think back on it. 'Cause you know
what you were feeling")
- during their final therapy session when Conrad experienced
a therapeutic breakthrough, he kept insisting he was at fault for
his brother's death: ("It must be somebody's fault... or there's
no point!"); (Berger: "What was the one wrong thing you
did?" Conrad: "I hung on, I stayed with the boat");
Berger challenged Conrad:
"Feelings are scary. And sometimes they're painful. And if you
can't feel pain, then you're not gonna feel anything else either. Do
you know what I'm saying?...You're here, and you're alive, and don't
tell me you don't feel that"; Berger then reassured Conrad that
he was his friend: ("Because I'm your friend....I am. Count on
it"); Conrad was finally able to stop blaming himself for Buck's
death
- the confrontational scene between Beth and Calvin
at a Houston-area golf course (during a trip to visit Beth’s
brother Ward (Quinn Redeker) and his wife Audrey (Mariclare Costello)),
when they argued about how they had failed with their son Conrad;
Calvin: "All he wants is to know that you don't hate him, that's
it!" Beth: "Hate him! God, how could I hate him? Mothers
don't hate their sons! Is that what he told you? Do you see how you
accept what he says with no questions, and you can't do the same
thing for me, you can't! GOD I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANYONE WANTS FROM
ME ANYMORE!..."; Ward interjected: "Beth, now listen, look,
look. We all just want - Cal, Connie, everybody, we just want you
to be happy", causing Beth to fly off the handle: "Happy!...Ward,
you tell me the definition of happy, huh? But first you better make
sure that your kids are good and safe, that no one's fallen off a
horse, or been hit by a car, or drowned in that swimming pool you're
so proud of! And then you come to me and tell me how to be happy!"
- in the final scene, Calvin ultimately admitted the
loss of his love for his wife: ("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?....We would've been all right if there hadn't been the mess.
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. 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. 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")
- the closing scene in the Jarrett backyard before
the credits, when Calvin told Conrad that a very shaken Beth had
gone away to Houston to live for awhile; predictably, Conrad blamed
himself, but was angrily dissuaded by his father: ("Don't do
that! Don't do that to yourself! It's nobody's fault! Things happen
in this world. People don't always have the answers for 'em, you
know"); as they began to re-connect again, Conrad thanked his
father for showing toughness, and also expressed admiration for him: "You
always made us feel like everything was gonna be all right. I thought
about that a lot lately. I really admire you for it" - they
hugged and both pledged their love for each other in the film's final
two lines: Conrad: "I love you" -- Calvin: "I love
you, too!", before the camera angle shifted and pulled up and
away
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Icy Mother Beth Jarrett (Mary Tyler Moore) with Conrad
- Talking About Family's Lack of Pets
Picture-Taking Scene: "Give her the god-damn camera!"
Conrad's Discussion With Close Student Friend Jeannine
Pratt (Elizabeth McGovern) About His Suicide Attempt
Conrad's Wrists
Beth's Golf-Course Outburst
Calvin Jarrett (Donald Sutherland) Admitting Loss of
Love to Beth
Final Backyard Scene: Father/Son Hug
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