Ordinary people (1980)

Robert Redford directing a movie --- in 1980? Well, I didn't think much of this prospect for a movie. I was wrong. Ordinary people (1980) is a good movie. It is not without flaws, but its depiction of grief was, I thought, very believable and moving. It's a quiet little movie, but when I read a summary of the story I expected something else (and films about brothers who deal with the death of a family member, usually a brother, are queerly abundant). There were tons of small things I liked about this film. The way a particular tone of voice may invite trust, and different meanings of physical closure. One thing that surprised me about Ordinary people was that it had very little to do with certain pictures of "man&women&emotions". Even though it is, most would say, a simple film, the characters in it are, mostly, complex (the subdued demons of the "mother" was at times brilliantly expressed, but in other scenes her repression(s) were given an interpretation that was a little over the top).

Perhaps I've had the stupid idea that the year 1980 marks a more or less absolute limit in American movie history. From brutal and honest films (Cassavetes et al) to films about people that wear too much make-up. That is not true either. Especially since seedy noir-ish thrillers from 198- to 1992 tend to be good.