Carl Franklin's understated direction keeps the tears and life-affirming revelations from congealing into chicken shmaltz for the soul.
Comment
06/18/08
One True Thing (1998)
89 %
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
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
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Reviews for One True Thing
There isn't one schmaltzy moment in the entire film, and any tears the viewer sobs into their hankies are well-earned.
06/18/08
Top CriticThe script shifts audience sympathies about quite adroitly, though it's a pity all the men had to be such humbugs.
01/26/06
Top CriticThere's a lot of Oscar timber here...
12/06/05
Streep, Zellweger, and Hurt are outstanding.
04/09/05
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
As finely wrought a drama as one could ask for.
11/07/02
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 well-oiled machine manufactured to tap our welled-up ducts.
04/12/02
Top CriticA 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
Top CriticInstead 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 CriticThe 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
Zellweger gives a rich performance!
01/01/00
Top CriticFranklin seems ill-suited to this cast and this material.
01/01/00
Top CriticLatest News for One True Thing
June 23, 2008:
RT Flashback: The First Ten Movies Ever Reviewed
Rush Hour, 54, Rounders and more...join us in a look back at the first ten movies ever reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes when it launched during the summer of 1998. More...
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