Robert Redford's Ordinary People Was More Than Oscar Bait

"Many now consider Scorsese's searing, boisterous boxing drama one of the director's best - a brutal, black-and-white symphony of rage and violence. Ordinary People, based on Judith Guest's novel of the same name, is a much quieter affair. Set in muted earth tones in the North Chicago suburbs, Ordinary People focuses on an affluent Waspy family grappling with the death of one son and suicide attempt of the other, who blames himself for his brother's accidental death."

"In fact, what may be most remarkable about Ordinary People is how it shifted the "Robert Redford" the public knew as a Hollywood golden boy. Redford, who died in his sleep on September 16, was the portrait of a California everyman: golden-haired, handsome, charismatic, and often funny. While Ordinary People is not without humor, it's the humor of repression: Part of what we laugh at, when we laugh, is what the characters cannot bring themselves to say."

Ordinary People is a restrained suburban drama that examines an affluent family's response to the accidental death of one son and the suicide attempt of the other. The film uses muted earth tones and quiet performances to portray grief, repression, and interpersonal strain. Robert Redford chose the material to shift away from his glamour persona toward explorations of behavior and feelings, and he approached the project as his directorial debut. The central quartet—Conrad, his parents Calvin and Beth, and psychiatrist Dr. Berger—anchors the film with nuanced, tension-filled interactions. Humor appears as suppressed release rather than overt comedy.

Read at Vulture