Ordinary People

Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1980, Ordinary People almost perfectly brought Judith Guest’s 1976 novel of the same name to life.

The Story

Ordinary People is a story of the Jarrett’s, an upper middle class family living in the suburbs of Chicago. The story begins with Conrad, the youngest son, reentering high school after a stint in a psychiatric hospital because he tried to commit suicide. We soon discover that Conrad and his older brother, Buck, were in a boating accident and only Conrad survived. Still dealing with the tragedy after getting out of the hospital, Conrad contacts a psychiatrist to help him. The mother and father try to bring normalcy to the family, yet both are obviously suffering tremendous mental anguish. As Conrad is spending more time with the psychiatrist, he tries to reach out to both parents. However, his mother remains cold and stoic. His father finally seeks help from the psychiatrist and tries to convince his wife to come as well. She declines and the couple’s relationship starts to dissolve. The story climaxes with Conrad finding out that one of his friends from the hospital committed suicide. Considering suicide himself, Conrad rushes to the psychiatrist to help him. As he meets with the psychiatrist, Conrad discovers that he blames himself for his brother’s death and it has been the crux of his pain all along. At the same time, the parents separate. The movie ends with the father and son able to grieve together for the pain they had held inside for so long.

The Meaning

This is a story about the power of psychology to heal mental illness. One of the striking and purposely omitted elements of the story is the lack of religion to help the family through their tragedy. It is apparent that the family is culturally Christian since they celebrate Christmas. However, the only reference to God in the movie is slang as in “Oh my God.” The writer is definitely showing how spirituality is in decline and to resolve one’s mental issues, people must embrace the healing powers of psychology. While the mother never embraces psychology, the father and son do and they are saved. The mother then becomes a tragic figure who cannot resolve her pain.

Whether you believe in psychology or not, since Judith Guest wrote her book and Robert Redford directed this movie, psychology has become much more accepted in American society. With the book being a mainstay for years in high school English classes and the movie attaining critical acclaim, it could be argued that this is the most powerful story ever to sell the benefits of psychology to resolve mental health issues.