--- title: "Ordinary People: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/ordinary-people/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/ordinary-people" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ordinary People (1980): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 10 reviews: 7 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it, and the praise falls in two places. The first is the acting: Mary Tyler Moore’s tightly wound mother is singled out again and again, with Timothy Hutton’s damaged son and Donald Sutherland’s bewildered father close behind. The second is Redford, whose first film as director is repeatedly called assured and understated, letting the performances carry the weight. Several reviews add that the family stays ordinary without being patronised, and that the film is funnier than its reputation suggests. The reservations cluster around depth. The New Yorker finds an earnest, academic exercise in catharsis that never reaches past its acting effects, and Time Out sees a tasteful psychodrama that amounts to an elegant advert for therapy. Later reappraisals, including Radio Times, think the handling of the family’s buried tensions now looks pat. The spread is wide, from full marks to the low fifties, though nobody dismisses it outright. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 1 January 1980. The film develops its characters through genuine emotional change and growth following family tragedy. Redford's understated direction and strong performances, especially by Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, and Donald Sutherland, make it intelligent and deeply moving. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ordinary-people-1980) ## Empire Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. This superior family-in-crisis drama is thoughtful and beautifully observed, fully deserving of its many accolades including Oscars for Best Picture, director Robert Redford, the screenplay and Timothy Hutton. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ordinary-people-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Charles Champlin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 1980. Redford's assured adaptation is a strongly emotional and beautifully written family drama about the rending of a complacently happy upper-middle-class family. It is fine and touching, with standout performances, especially from Mary Tyler Moore. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2022-08-25/from-the-archives-a-film-out-of-the-ordinary-by-redford) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 1980. The film is a moving, intelligent and funny portrait of an upper-middle-class family unraveling after tragedy. Canby praises Redford's assured directorial debut and the way the characters remain ordinary without being patronized. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1980/09/19/archives/redfords-ordinary-people.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 September 1980. Redford delivers a remarkably intelligent and assured directorial debut in this powerfully intimate domestic drama. The review highlights the craftsmanship, strong performances (especially by Timothy Hutton and Mary Tyler Moore), and sensitive handling of the family's emotional turmoil. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1980/film/reviews/ordinary-people-3-1200424802/) ## Little White Lies Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). Redford’s directorial debut is a moving exploration of loss, guilt, and mental illness within a privileged WASP family. It stands out for its humane portrayal of the relationship between the troubled son and his psychiatrist. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/ordinary-people-robert-redford-mental-health) ## Radio Times — Sue Heal Rating 4/5. The film is a critically acclaimed Oscar winner for best picture and director, with a standout performance from Mary Tyler Moore as the tightly wound mother, supported by strong turns from Sutherland and Hutton. Though Redford's handling of the family's hidden tensions now feels pat and obvious, it remains a solid directorial debut that thoughtfully addresses therapy. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-hcrjkb/ordinary-people/) ## Film Comment — Kaleem Hawa Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2020. The critic reflects on the film's enduring personal resonance despite its dated reputation as sentimental and class-bound. They single out Mary Tyler Moore's performance and the film's exploration of family repression and queer-coded identification for praise. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/feeling-seen-ordinary-people/) ## Time Out — DMacp Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The film excels in its portrait of Mary Tyler Moore as a neurotic, domineering mother but otherwise comes across as a tasteful, actors-driven psychodrama that aspires to Chekhovian depth while remaining an elegant advert for therapy. Redford directs handsomely but with a pretentious touch that leaves an ultimately cuddly impression. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ordinary-people) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 1980. The film is an earnest academic exercise in catharsis about a Protestant family dealing with the aftermath of tragedy and suicide attempt. Redford's direction focuses on acting effects and delivers solemnity but lacks deeper reach beyond performance. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/10/13/the-man-who-made-howard-hughes-sing-and-the-iron-butterfly-mom) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/ordinary-people.md