There isn't one schmaltzy moment in the entire film, and any tears the viewer sobs into their hankies are well-earned.
Comment
06/18/08
One True Thing (1998)
89 %
Reviews Counted: 61 Fresh: 54 Rotten:7 Average Rating: 7.2/10
Consensus:
Solid performances lift this drama to a higher level.
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Synopsis: ONE TRUE THING tells the sobering story of a family whose strength is tested when tragedy strikes. Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellweger), a writer living in New York City, has dedicated her life to becoming a successful journalist. When she learns that her mother, Kate (Meryl Streep--nominated for... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham
Director: Carl Franklin
Screenwriter: Karen Croner
Producer: Jesse Beaton, Harry J. Ufland
Composer: Cliff Eidelman
Screenwriter: Karen Croner
Producer: Jesse Beaton, Harry J. Ufland
Composer: Cliff Eidelman
Reviews
Top Critic
The script shifts audience sympathies about quite adroitly, though it's a pity all the men had to be such humbugs.
01/26/06
Top Critic
Carl Franklin's understated direction keeps the tears and life-affirming revelations from congealing into chicken shmaltz for the soul.
06/18/08
the movie ultimately belongs to Streep, who illuminates the extraordinary soul inside an everyday woman.
06/04/03
One of those rare films -- a movie that is genuinely sad and moving without being melodramatic, sentimental or hokey.
05/22/03
Streep's performance will probably secure her another Oscar nomination.
02/08/03
Brings extraordinary honesty and keen emotional pitch to the family drama.
10/15/02
Thanks to Carl Franklin's clever direction, which always stays real close to the characters, what could have been a TV movie-of-the-week becomes a thought-provoking and touching film.
09/10/02
A heart-affecting film that challenges us to confront some of the myths and meanings we have constructed about our parents.
03/03/02
Even director Carl Franklin...can't prevent One True Thing from descending into chick-movie hell.
05/11/01
Instead of being just about coping with cancer, it tells an interesting story about a young woman coming to terms with the fact that her parents are not who she always thought they were.
02/27/01
One True Thing demonstrates that the power of simple things, the transcendent nature of the ordinary, can make for riveting filmmaking.
02/14/01
Top Critic
The film is helped, by wonderful performances by two of the top talents in the business in Streep and Hurt, and Zellweger stays right with them.
01/01/01
Top CriticRelated Forums
shocked to see the forum bare
by: rakastaa 1/19/04
by: rakastaa 1/19/04
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