Ordinary People Review

This superior family-in-crisis drama scooped Oscars for first-time director Robert Redford, Alvin Sargent's screenplay, 19-year-old Timothy Hutton's performance and, to top it off, Best Picture.

In an affluent suburb of Chicago, these Ordinary People are well-heeled WASPs whose spectacular neuroses and awful family dynamics are laid bare when the accidental death of one son leaves the younger a suicidal, self-loathing wreck.

This is thoughtful and beautifully observed work, from the social backdrop and the tell-me-what-you're-feeling analysis sessions to the painful performances including Mary Tyler Moore playing against type as the chillingly repressed mother.