One True Thing (1998)

Based on the Novel by Anna Quindlen, 'One True Thing', directed by Carl Franklin, is a Senstive Film, that is Real & Moving. Another thing, the performances are super here! 'One True Thing' tells the story of a career oriented girl, who is forced to take care of her cancer-stick-en mother. It's about pleasure, It's about pain and it's about a family.Screenplay by Karen Croner, is challenging & moving. The relationships are effectively executed. Carl Franklin directs this story efficiently. Cinematography & Editing are good. Performance-Wise: Meryl Streep is dependable, as always. Renne Zellweger is fantastic. She delivers in every sequence. William Hurt is restrained. Tom Evertt Scott has a brief role. Nicky Katt does well. On the whole, A Well-Made film, that deserves a watch.

Merly Streep is a great actress She did a wonderful job .The movie hit home . My mother had throat cancer she died in 1999. Truly a great movie all of the charters were great. it took me awhile to watch it but i loved it. any movie she stars in is great. then 10 months and 5 days later i lost my father. to colon cancer. I have had breast cancer both breast removed. but doing real good i was very lucky God has blessed me. Keep up the good work. She has done wonders in every film she has been.i thought she did a great performance . i cried all the way through the movie.will she be making any new movies in the near furture.please let your fans keep seeing you in the movies.

The reason I think this movie is fabulous is that it has so many layers of emotion. From the script and the fabulous acting you can tell that there is a history behind all of the feelings that there are. You understand why the characters take certain actions and why the do not make others. You can feel sympathy and joy and love and sorrow for them all at once. You see humanity at its best AND at it's worst. You can relate to the characters because although you may have never been in their exact situations before you see qualities and downfalls in them that you see in yourself. To a certain extent this movie kind of keeps you wondering but then at the end it explains itself and you feel a certain peace and understanding not only in you but for the characters. I will say that I have have never EVER cried so much in my life nor have gotten so much out of something. I implore you to watch this movie and take it's meaning to heart. That there is only one true thing and that is... love.

My comments may contain some SPOILERS so consider carefully whether you should read them if you have not seen the movie. George Gulden (William Hurt) is a literary professor and author, very disciplined, his wife (Meryl Streep) is not so intellectual, the daughter (Renee Zellweger) forms a closer bond with her father, the son with the mother. Even as a small child, while driving with the family, mother says 'look at those small cows.' Daughter answers, 'they are called calves', to set the tone for the daughter's disdain for her mother's limitations. The daughter grows up a Harvard graduate and a very aggressive investigative reporter in NYC. A visit home, it is clear daughter still worships dad, seeks his writing advice, but minimizes interaction with mom, who is still mom. Then the news, advanced inoperable cancer, mom is dying, dad matter of factly tells daughter she has to quit her job and move home to take care of mom. Reluctantly she does, through a series of incidents gets to know mom and what a beautiful person she is inside, at the same time finding out things about dad that shatter some of her hero worship. Part of the theme is to learn to accept the faults of others, as mom had done with dad, and now daughter has to do with both mom and dad. Near the end, dad tells daughter after mom's funeral, 'I loved your mother, she was my one true thing." Thus the title of the movie.Superb drama, with some of the best actors of our time.