This is a kind of film rather common in the 70's and 80's that they don't do any more. It is about about feelings and family ties and how people do have different points of view depending on their age and personal life circumstances. Because of that it could have been a very good family movie but unfortunately, as seems afraid of getting in a mess of emotions, it suddenly cuts up and ends up failing to reach its peak.
Plot is about two brothers -a young child and a teenager- whose father left seven years ago and whose mother, knowing she has an incurable cancer, decides to commit suicide. Living with their mother and grandmother, they are sent to live with father for the summer after mother's dead. While the older one, angry with his father because he abandoned them and never met them again, has no desire to befriend with him, the younger one -not remembering anything about his father- becomes fond of him as well as father does of him too.
The problem here is that, while the relationship between father and the younger son is well developed and understandably (the child does not have any memories of his father and the initial rejection from father to him -the reason why is explained in the film- soon becomes mutual affection since they get to know each other "for the first time"), the relation with the older one, who was old enough to remember when his father left and subsequently is not so easy to make friends with, is left away although it is clearly seen he is in much need of the father figure he once had and missed. This teenage cry for help mixing suffering feelings both for mother's death and father's incapacity to get close to him is sadly dismissed and would have much improved the movie. Where Ordinary People succeeded showing the feelings of the entire family this film fails by centering in the "easy" part of the problem and this is highly disappointing. The only moment is seems to be a close-up between father and son is ended up abruptly when son asks father why he left and never came back and father rejects to answer (not to reveal the truth) leaving both character and viewers the bitter unhappy premonition that this promising close-up presented as a last chance has been wasted never to take place again -as it is so- and that this father-son relationship that might have been restarted is unfairly left aside instead while the feeling that a simple hug could be enough to shatter teenager's defenses and restore their once broken paternal-filial emotional love bound keeps floating on the air.
So when father finally decides he wants his younger son to stay with him for living while the older one flies away back to grandmother's home without even try to talk to him in a more depth way it is simply heartbreaking and rather frustrating, since you feel an essential -and potentially most interesting- part of the plot has been spared to us and put it away.
Can not avoid feeling sorry and outraged for this son who once was left over and now is definitely, not needed anymore because his time has passed and a new no troublesome replacement-son has taken his place. Moreover, in the end both brothers get apart and "the old family" is definitely and hopelessly broken so father and younger son may start a new family life. New life-new son? Discouraging.
All the actors are very good in their roles (grandmother is played by Martha Scott, Ben-Hur's and Moises' mother) with a special mention to Timothy Hutton (exceptionally touching in this high demanding teenager brother role). It is a pity that this solid actor usually does so bad script choices and mainly waisted in secondary character or minor roles since the 90s considering he is without a doubt the best actor of his generation, always giving intense and exceptional performances. And One of the scarcely actors able to make believable any role he plays - when chosing right.
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