Ordinary People (1980) on Netflix
Conrad Jarrett returns to Lake Forest after four months in a psychiatric hospital. His brother Buck drowned in a sailing accident, and their parents, Calvin and Beth, grieve in different ways.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.7/1062,661 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Lake Forest, an affluent suburb north of Chicago, the Jarrett family is trying to return to ordinary life. Their older son, Buck, drowned in a sailing accident; their younger son, Conrad, was aboard and spent four months afterward in a psychiatric hospital. Conrad keeps his distance from friends and has quit his school's swim team. He starts sessions with a psychiatrist, Dr. Tyrone Berger, and begins to speak about what he carries. His father, Calvin, tries to reach him and to understand his wife. Beth, Conrad's mother, refuses to dwell on the loss and works to keep the household looking unchanged; she had favored Buck. Conrad also meets Jeannine, a fellow student he starts to date.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Ordinary People (1980)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- A then-unknown Michael J. Fox, who had just moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, auditioned for the role of Conrad Jarrett but reportedly did not impress Redford, who flossed his teeth during Fox's audition.
- Despite his co-stars receiving nominations, Sutherland was overlooked for an Academy Award, which Entertainment Weekly has described as one of the biggest acting snubs in the history of the awards.
- The film had six nominations at the 53rd Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Hutton, who at age 20 was the youngest recipient of that award.
- Gene Hackman was originally cast as Calvin Jarrett but later dropped out when he and the studio could not come to a financial agreement.
- The film's heavy use of Pachelbel's Canon, a piece that had been largely obscure for centuries, is credited with helping push it into mainstream popular culture.
