Ordinary People (1980)

(Illinois; contemporary)

Very emotionally aware picture was Robert Redford's directing debut and won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1980. The story chronicles the after effects of one son's accidental death, and another's attempted suicide, on an upper middle class family of ordinary people. Powerful performances all around, including those of Mary Taylor Moore and Judd Hirsch, both of whom are usually thought of as comedy actors. A very real feeling picture that's both honest and powerful.