Ordinary People

Robert Redford 's directorial debut ended up the 1980 Oscar winner for Best Picture. It is a simple but painfully emotional story of the disintegration of a "perfect" family. Teenager Conrad ( Timothy Hutton ) lives under a cloud of guilt after his brother drowns after their boat capsizes in Lake Michigan. Despite intensive therapy sessions with his psychiatrist ( Judd Hirsch ), Conrad can't shake the belief that he should have died instead of his brother; nor do his preoccupied parents ( Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore ) offer much in the way of solace. The boy is brought out of his doldrums through his romance with Jeannine ( Elizabeth McGovern ). A winner in every respect, Ordinary People (adapted from the novel by Judith Guest ) scores highest in the scenes with Mary Tyler Moore, who superbly and perceptively portrays a blinkered, ever-smiling suburban wife and mother for whom outward appearance is all that matters. — Hal Erickson