DANdy Debrief III: Redford’s Ordinary People

In my previous post, I promised an English-language film and I have followed through on that. Lately, I’ve been seeking out directorial debuts, as well as films based on novels. One of the films I took in at TIFF this year was Robert Redford’s The Conspirator. Leading up to that screening, I went back and watched a few of his older films. That collection of events has led me to recommend you check out Redford’s Ordinary People, his first crack at working behind the camera instead of in front of it.

In 1980, Ordinary People took home the Best Picture award at the Oscars, though many consider this choice controversial because it beat out David Lynch’s The Elephant Man and Scorcese’s instant classic, Raging Bull. Award choice aside, I think the more relevant trivia note is that Ordinary People is the last film to win best picture without also at least being nominated for best film editing. You can make of this what you will (The continued innovation in the art of editing? The growth of self-referential cinema? The generational shift towards poor attention spans and 7500+ cuts/film?), but I think it sells People short. It is true that the film is intensely dialogue driven and the conversations in the film are not shot or edited with innovation, but there is merit in the pure simplicity of the editing. Being in a film editing class myself at the moment, I’m learning to further appreciate the nuances of dialogue editing and how drastically you can effect the pace and momentum of a scene with even the most minute of changes. I think People does a tremendous job at setting the somber tone through minimalism. This skilled pacing is at its best in the conversations between Conrad and Dr. Berger.

This is a film that is not at all cinematic. In fact, none of Redford’s films are. Yet I find I am drawn into this film, like Redford’s other work, simply because it is a strong story. So this might not be your next favourite film, but let the acting speak for itself.

Ordinary People tells the story of Conrad Jarrett (Timothy Hutton), who recently got out of a psychiatric hospital after an attempted suicide, and his parents, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) and Calvin (Donald Sutherland). The three family members struggle with life after Conrad’s older brother died in a boating accident. Without spoiling the intricacies of a dialogue heavy film, the story discusses healing from grief, the façades we erect in our lives, what it means to really connect with others. The scene of the party that Beth and Cal attend is particularly skilled at illustrating how shallow our typical, daily conversations can be.

The three family members are impeccably cast. Given Moore’s history as being a lovable character, her role as the painfully sterile Beth is all the more amazing to take in. Consider how you react to her character and what that says about you. Timothy Hutton went on to win best supporting actor. This categorization is a head-scratcher for me because Conrad is the lead actor as far as I’m concerned. Perhaps you see it differently?

From this month on, I’ll begin posting two film recommendations each month. I hope you’ll check out Ordinary People before the 15^th when I return with another review.

~ by thatsadandyidea on November 1, 2010.