The family in the movie Ordinary People suffers from an unexpected death of their oldest son Buck Jarrett in a boating accident. Which leaves the youngest son, Conrad Jarrett as only child. Soon after the accident Conrad Jarrett attempts to commit suicide by slitting his wrists, but luckily the father walks in and rushes him to the hospital where he gets saved but remains there for about a month. Once released, Conrad sees a psychologist who helps him solve his many problems, for instance his mother, Beth (played by Mary Tyler Moore) doesn't love him and he has a lot of trouble sleeping. Eventually Conrad's problems and his mother's lack of love lead to his mother leaving him and his dad.

The problems Conrad has with his mother are the root of his conflict because he doesn't feel loved at all by his mother (because she...