Robert Redford’s Ordinary People Was More Than Oscar Bait

Though Robert Redford’s Ordinary People beat Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull at the 53rd Academy Awards, both films were knockouts in their own right. Many now consider Scorsese’s searing, boisterous boxing drama one of the director’s best — a brutal, black-and-white symphony of rage and violence. Ordinary People , based on Judith Guest’s novel of the same name, is a much quieter affair. Set in muted earth tones in the North Chicago suburbs, Ordinary People focuses on an affluent Waspy family grappling with the death of one son and suicide attempt of the other, who blames himself for his brother’s accidental death. It’s a tragic but not entirely bleak film, one that despite Redford’s acclaim and gravitas seemed like an odd choice for his directorial debut. In fact, what may be mo