This is one of those movies that everyone probably forgot about a few years after it was made (I bet Shakespeare in Love and Forrest Gump will soon follow.) It's great, and doesn't deserve to be forgotten. It should be in the top 50 on this list. This is probably the best movie I've ever seen that has such a slow moving plot. People compare it to American Beauty, though they're really quite different. Ordinary People has a much better message and is less plot-driven than American Beauty. The characters are excellent. Everyone in this movie deserved an Oscar, especially Mary Tyler Moore, in what is, by far, her strongest performance (and pretty much what is her only major serious performance.) Mary Tyler Moore and Timothy Hutton's few scenes are the highlights of the movie, although the rest of the movie is also wonderful. If you want to see an emotionally manipulative movie that uses simple, unoriginal Hollywood ideas that have been used a billion times, go see a movie like "Pay It Forward," but if you want genuine emotion and a good message, go see this movie. I hope I've made the point I was trying to make. 10/10
Review of Ordinary People
