One True Thing (1998)

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One True Thing (1998): Dir: Carl Franklin / Cast: Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham: Drama about sacrifice and hanging on even when your last breath hangs in balance. Meryl Streep plays an ambitious housewife busy preparing her husband's birthday. Renee Zellweger plays her daughter who arrives home to discover that her brother flunked out of college. When it is learned that Streep has cancer Zellweger reluctantly puts her job on hold. William Hurt plays Streep's husband, a university professor who acts as if nothing has changed. Zellweger distances herself when she catches him in the midst of an affair. Plot bares too many similarities to another Streep film Marvin's Room and it follows too many predictable developments. Fine directing by Carl Franklin who also made One False Move. Strong performances by Streep who focuses on family as oppose to her illness. Zellweger is excellent as the frustrated daughter trying to maintain emotions and sanity. Hurt is well cast as a husband fleeing from his emotions. Tom Everett Scott as the son who flunked out of college provides comic relief. Aside from the family, other roles are less interesting and limited at best. We all know where this is all going to end up but it examines trauma and the important things we often take for granted. Score: 7 ½ / 10

We're used to Meryl Streep being brilliant in films. She's probably the preeminent actress of our time. But here (as the mother with cancer) she is upstaged a bit by a wonderful performance by Renée Zellweger. I think what stands out about Zellweger's performance is that it isn't movie-real...it's real-life real. I've seen her in some other flicks and she was good, but here she was stupendous.In terms of the other actors, William Hurt turns in a fine performance as the husband. Tom Everett Scott is fine as the son/brother, as is Nicky Katt as the boyfriend.This is what I generally refer to as an absorbing drama. A mother has cancer. Her husband, a college professor, convinces the daughter to come home from her job as a magazine feature writer in New York City, while the father doesn't fulfill his own responsibilities. The daughter is left to be nurse maid and run the house, while dad simply goes about his everyday life...including having flings with a few students (although this is mostly implied). The mother eventually succumbs, with an autopsy showing the cause of death as an overdose of morpheme. Throughout the film a detective is questioning -- though not accusing -- the daughter about the events leading up to the death. However, this is not a mystery. The detective is just a means by the author/director to tell the story of the life the family was experiencing. This is heart warming in spots, incredibly sad in spots, and just life in other spots...in other words, real life.Highly recommended for the serious film-goer.

this is one very good movie.it's all about love and loss,two pretty heavy themes.it's not at all depressing,but there's a lot of depth her,bot to the story and to the performance of Meryl Streep.there are good supporting performances,such as Renee Zellwegger,and William Hurt.James Ekhouse(The dad from the Original Bevery hills 90210)who i really like as an actor,has a small role,as does Tom Everett Scott.but the movie belongs to Streep,who who is brilliant here.also the makeup artists did brilliant work here,as well.this is no lite drama.it's pretty thought provoking.it's pretty intense,so it's not for everyone.but if heavy drama is your thing,you might want to check out this movie.

Be prepared for a film that deals with parental dying and death and looks closely at how one family handles the ordeal. Meryl Streep gives one of her most outstanding performances as Kate Gulden, the dying wife of a National Book Award-winning professor of English George Gulden (William Hurt) and uber mother of Ellen (Renee Zellweger) and Brian (Tom Everett Scott). The story is from the viewpoint of Ellen, who must bear the brunt of caring for her mother (and father) while coming to terms with the father she once adored.Renee Zellweger gives a great performance as the ambitious magazine writer torn between her desire to advance her career, and her father's need for her to care for her mother as her death approaches. William Hurt does a great job playing the self-absorbed academic who tries to keep his life going as smoothly as when his wife was well.This movie offers an very real portrayal of the forces and dynamics that shape the relationships of a family and community during a time of hardship and ending. I highly recommend this film.