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Ordinary People (flat space)

Gracie Marcellus
October 2018
Ordinary People (flat space)


In Robert Redford’s directorial debut, Ordinary People, we follow a family that is nearly falling apart after the death of their eldest son. Their youngest son, Conrad, who is portrayed by Timothy Hutton, attempts to “not feel” anything for anyone or anything. This film showed us a teenager that was stuck in a place where his only way out was to face his fear of the past. Conrad’s emotional journey was shown through flat space to convey that he was stuck and needed to find a way out (into deep space).


One of the first steps Conrad takes on his emotional journey is calling the therapist, Dr. Berger, and making an appointment. We then see Conrad about to walk into Dr. Berger’s office. There is a close up on him, staring at the building. The building in front of him has rows and rows of flat windows with the air conditioning units hanging off of some of them. We cut back to see him sitting still on a bench, making the setting feel more flat. A plain door frame is behind him, showing that the scene is very still and cardboard-like. Leading lines with the walls and windows behind and in front of him were used well to convey the flat setting. There is no camera movement during this scene. The bench was used to visually explain that the world around him wouldn’t move. It was business as usual in his world. The only time something was not supposed to stay still was when Conrad got up to walk into the building. This was one of the first steps in his emotional rollercoaster because he was choosing to not be glued to his seat any longer.




When Conrad is finally inside the building, there is an unsettling feeling that Conrad is alone. He walks into the elevator and quickly hits the button to close the doors. His back is leaning against the wooden walls in the elevator. Then, breaking the silence, Conrad talks to himself, imitating what he might say to Dr. Berger when he reaches his office. The elevator door slowly opens, revealing that nothing has changed except for the expression on his face. Getting more nervous, he bites his lip and exits the elevator. The camera moves with him towards the door. An insert is shown with him pressing the buzzer on Dr. Berger’s office door. A different door opens to reveal Dr. Berger. He follows him into the office which shows more windows, doors, and leading lines.


Throughout all of his visits with Dr. Berger, it helped him to articulate how he was feeling. This helped push the story along. Especially in the end when he felt like he had no control over the circumstances in his life. He finally takes control and has a real heart to heart with his father. This was a visually satisfying ending when the filmmakers made the camera move in such a way to show that there was finally deep space and a chance for Conrad afterall.
Throughout the film, The relationship between Dr. Berger and Conrad was a powerful part of the emotional tragedy that is Ordinary People. If it wasn’t for Dr. Berger, Conrad wouldn’t have been able to confront his feelings and break down the walls he had put up. The choice to use flat space for this film was a very smart choice on Redford’s part. In that final scene, the filmmakers chose to use deep space when they showed Conrad and his father sitting outside of the house. They used a very high camera angle to pan up and pull out of the final scene. The ending told us that he was done being stuck in such a flat space. It conveyed that Dr. Berger had a big impact on Conrad’s life and how it’s beginning to change for the better. Throughout the film, Conrad conquered his fear of the past.

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