The film follows the disintegration of a wealthy family in Lake Forest, Illinois, following the accidental death of one of their two sons and the attempted suicide of the other.

He feels alienated from his friends and family and seeks help from a psychiatrist, Dr. Tyrone Berger, who discovers that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that caused Buck's death.

Tensions escalate near Christmas when Conrad becomes furious at Beth for not wanting to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents.

A cathartic breakthrough session in the middle of the night with Dr. Berger allows Conrad to stop blaming himself for Buck's death and accept his mother's frailties.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Robert Redford proves himself a filmmaker of uncommon emotional intelligence with Ordinary People, an auspicious debut that deftly observes the fractioning of a family unit through a quartet of superb performances.

There are no cheap shots against suburban lifestyles or affluence or mannerisms: The problems of the people in this movie aren't caused by their milieu, but grow out of themselves.

[10] Writing for The New York Times, Vincent Canby called it "a moving, intelligent and funny film about disasters that are commonplace to everyone except the people who experience them.

[13] Judd Hirsch's portrayal of Dr. Berger was a departure from his work on the sitcom Taxi, and drew praise from many in the psychiatric community as one of the rare times their profession is shown in a positive light in film.

Additionally, Ordinary People launched the career of Elizabeth McGovern who played Hutton's character's love interest, and who received special permission to film while attending Juilliard.

The film's prominent usage of Pachelbel's Canon, which had been relatively obscure for centuries, helped to usher the piece into mainstream popular culture.

"[16] She praised Moore for taking such a career risk so soon after having played such a memorable and likable character on television, "scaffolding gaping emptiness with a persona of perfection, supported by denial, blame, rejection, and rage.