Mary Tayler Moore as Beth Jarrett in ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)

MARY TAYLER MOORE

Mary Tayler Moore as Beth Jerrett in ORDINARY PEOPLE. (1980)

Rumor has it that there was a great deal of sweat shed by studios heads that thought Mary Taylor Moore was not the best choice. In those days, the cross over from TV to Film just didn’t happen. Sally Field did it the year before with NORMA RAE but that was considered a fluke. MTM just wasn’t considered a top caliber film actress that this role and film required. Mary Taylor Moore was a daring bit of casting and she put all those chiefs, department heads and all other nay-sayers to rest when the movie opened to rave reviews.

The films turmoil centers on the mother, Beth Jarrett played by Mary Tayler Moore, in which the character masks her inner sterility behind a facade of cheerful suburban perfection. Beth does a wonderful job of running her house, which looks like it's out of the pages of Better Homes and Gardens. She's active in community affairs, she's an organizer, she's an ideal wife and mother except that at some fundamental level she's selfish, she can't really give of herself, and she has, in fact, always loved the dead older son more. There are people like Beth. People that can only feel things on the surface, incapable of going deeply into their own pain and suffering. Unable to reach out because there is nothing within to give or even to sympathize. There she goes wallpapering, like an unfeeling 'EverReady' battery - over the cracks, as the son and Father go to pieces. Mary Taylor Moore’s Beth seems unaware of her inability to feel when it’s so obvious to everyone around that some thing is terribly wrong. How can things go back to normal at the Conner household?

The Mother, Beth, is living in emotional denial. Denial is no stranger to families across the country. Unspoken family incidents and things people would rather not talk about are a cornerstone in the modern American family. But…

How does one play denial? Avoidance isn’t something an actor can play with. How does one go into this world, how does an actor do it without harsh judgments? Why doesn’t she love her other remaining (living) son? It’s a hard fact that mothers don’t want to admit to – but is there – underneath the reality. We have our favorites - in loves, in friends, and in our children.

It’s a very difficult role to play.

There are people who believe the camera simply captured Mary Taylor Moore being herself and living her own painful reality and that may well be true – I don’t know but it seems that she was doing something unbelievably real in this movie. Cold and scared - hanging onto her sanity by fingertips made of steel, terrified of her emotions. Relentlessly trying to keep up the appearances for the neighbors. Redford was very smart to add a flashback of a tiny scene with Bucky and Beth. Her face smiley wildly – beaming at her eldest child as the youngest looked on. That one glimpse takes to the other side we never see from Beth in the present day drama, but we know is there.

I keep going to the scene when her husband breaks the news to her that he doesn’t love her anymore and She walks up the stairs and opens the closet to pack. It’s hard to watch it’s so painful. We hold our breathe along with Mary as she struggles to figure out how to move and what to do next. Her look is dazed and beyond repair. Her grief is right on her face, under her skin – it explodes way in the very back and then she starts to feel, she starts to grieve for the first time and then she puts it away. She stomps it out the way she had always done. Her way. Beth’s way. It’s tragedy. Facing the unknown and then consciously choosing the stay in that world of denial. She turns it into pure Greek tragedy. She is experiencing something very real in those moments – something only a handful of actors could possible do – something perhaps only Mary Taylor Moore could do in that particular time in her life. Even with her back to the camera. Something very real is going on – on the other side; you can feel it. Acting isn’t acting. The word ‘acting’ itself has an aura of – ‘Oh, it’s just pretend, it’s not real’ and I say 'Oh yes it is' and point to this performance. ‘Acting is living truthfully in imaginary circumstances’ - That’s what the modern definition of good acting is. Mary Taylor Moore transcends good acting, TV acting, and movie acting and paints the hallmark of cold mothers ever with this film. Hard to face but beautiful to watch. Not someone you’d want over for dinner, but definitely someone who could do the dishes. Mary Taylor Moore is a revelation is this film.

I remember the summer of 1980, July, I had just shattered my teeth and was feeling a tad detached from my father. My cousin Jenny and I had watered down the driveway and thought spinning our bikes in the carport would be a fun thing to do. I went first and SMACK! Teeth pieces everywhere. Crying, scared, and bloodied I ran to my Dad. His faced turned red and grabbed both of my shoulders hard examining my face. I wild mix of emotions went through him and then he kicked the fence and broke his toe. Walking out of a stupid summer movie with my family I remember seeing that haunting ORDINARY PEOPLE poster. My mom stood with me for a second and said "Ohhh that looks good". I was curious to see it but I was also a little afraid to see it. It looked too real. Too familiar. "Look Jimmie, Robert Redford directed it" and then my Father claimed that he wouldn't pay a nickle to see Mary Taylor Moore in a movie."Fine, I'll take the boys" And so she did. Thanks Mom.