Ordinary People: Part 1

Robert Radford directed the movie "Ordinary People". The movie started off really confusing with the dream of a choir singing awakening Conrad, the main character. Conrad has nightmares because something very traumatic has happened in his life. His older brother, Buck died and Conrad tried to kill himself. Its seems that these events have disrupted his entire family. Conrad is very distant, nervous, and in the beginning of the movie he is sweating a lot. I was really confused and wondered what was wrong with him.

Conrad’s relationship with his parents is nonexistent. His father tries to console him and they can talk, but it is clear that relationship is hesitant and forced. His mother on the other hand shows no sympathy for Conrad. They agree on nothing and she always seems to fight against anything anyone else says. She comes across as being selfish. But like everyone in this traumatic movie her emotions are much deeper than what the viewer see, I just wish I knew the entire story and maybe that way the way she acts would be more understandable.

Conrad, who is on the swim team, doesn’t enjoy anymore. This shows through his performance. His brother died in a boating accident. I wonder if it was Conrad’s fault in some way. The girl, Karen that Conrad meets at the restaurant was pretty weird. He met her in the hospital and she was very talkative. I think he met with her because he say missed the hospital. Karen repeats herself, but doesn’t even realize it. Conrad begins seeing psychiatrist, Dr. Burger. I think this is really needed because it is obvious that he is not happy or himself. He needs to talk about his feelings, because he doesn’t get them at home. I want to know more; right now I still have questions running through my mind.