One True Thing (1998)
Tomatometer
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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
Genre: Dramas
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... [More]
Starring: Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott
Director: Carl Franklin
Reviews for One True Thing
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 3/5 |
There isn't one schmaltzy moment in the entire film, and any tears the viewer sobs into their hankies are well-earned. Full Review |
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The script shifts audience sympathies about quite adroitly, though it's a pity all the men had to be such humbugs. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
Carl Franklin's understated direction keeps the tears and life-affirming revelations from congealing into chicken shmaltz for the soul. Full Review |
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3/5 |
There's a lot of Oscar timber here... Full Review |
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B |
Streep, Zellweger, and Hurt are outstanding. Full Review |
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the movie ultimately belongs to Streep, who illuminates the extraordinary soul inside an everyday woman. Full Review |
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B+ |
One of those rare films -- a movie that is genuinely sad and moving without being melodramatic, sentimental or hokey. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
Streep's performance will probably secure her another Oscar nomination. Full Review |
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4/5 |
As finely wrought a drama as one could ask for. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
Brings extraordinary honesty and keen emotional pitch to the family drama. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
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. Full Review |
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3/4 |
A well-oiled machine manufactured to tap our welled-up ducts. Full Review |
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A heart-affecting film that challenges us to confront some of the myths and meanings we have constructed about our parents. Full Review |
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Even director Carl Franklin...can't prevent One True Thing from descending into chick-movie hell. Full Review |
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3/4 |
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. Full Review |
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One True Thing demonstrates that the power of simple things, the transcendent nature of the ordinary, can make for riveting filmmaking. Full Review |
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8/10 |
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. Full Review |
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Zellweger gives a rich performance! Full Review |
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3/4 |
No review available.
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Franklin seems ill-suited to this cast and this material. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for One True Thing
June 23, 2008:
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