In Robert Redford’s acclaimed directorial debut, which won him a Best Director and Best Picture Academy Award, the Jarretts, an upper-middle-class Lake Forest, Illinois family is in quiet, simmering agony. It's been less than a year since their eldest son Buck died in a sailing accident, and months since their grief-stricken youngest son Conrad (Timothy Hutton, in a raw, Academy Award–winning performance) attempted suicide. As Conrad clumsily yet bravely explores his pain with the help of unorthodox psychiatrist Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch), Conrad’s parents Beth (a brilliantly brittle Mary Tyler Moore) and Calvin (the late, great Donald Sutherland) confront their own heartache, until the family simultaneously unravels and rebuilds. ORDINARY PEOPLE garnered additional Academy Award nominations for Moore and Hirsch, and remains a humble, hopeful, and devastating portrait of an American family.

Awards & Nominations

Winner - Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Timothy Hutton), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Academy Awards
Nominee - Best Actress in a Leading Role (Mary Tyler Moore), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Judd Hirsch), Academy Awards

Heartland: Flyover country, the third coast, the rust belt. The American Midwest has plenty of nicknames, and is arguably more difficult to outline on a map than the east or west coasts. Despite its ambiguous footprint, the Midwest is often defined by its people: hard working, sympathetic, and “nice.” With Heartland, we search for the Midwest's cinematic definition—how is middle America defined by big screen style and story, and when the lights go down, do we like what we see of our cinematic selves (however realistic or fantastical) reflected back at us? Read more

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu