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One True Thing

Play trailer Poster for One True Thing R 1998 2h 7m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 58 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Kate (Meryl Streep), the undervalued matriarch of the Gulden family, is diagnosed with cancer. Daughter and journalist Ellen (Renée Zellweger) returns from New York City to care for her mother at the request of her father (William Hurt). During the time Kate spends with her parents, she discovers secrets that she was never privy to in her childhood. Though Ellen has always idolized her father, she learns that her mother has had a much more difficult life than she knew.
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One True Thing

One True Thing

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Critics Consensus

Solid performances lift this drama to a higher level.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media 12/26/2010
4/5
Probably won't appeal to teens. Go to Full Review
Time Out 01/26/2006
The script shifts audience sympathies about quite adroitly, though it's a pity all the men had to be such humbugs. Go to Full Review
Rick Groen Globe and Mail 04/12/2002
3/4
A well-oiled machine manufactured to tap our welled-up ducts. Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal 06/22/2024
2.5/5
Perilously light on drama and overly reliant on kooky comic mugging from Renée Zellweger, "One True Thing" is a film that is at least briefly enlivened by Meryl Streep before collapsing under the weight of its bizarre quasi-mystery framework. Go to Full Review
Film4 06/18/2008
3/5
There isn't one schmaltzy moment in the entire film, and any tears the viewer sobs into their hankies are well-earned. Go to Full Review
Tom Meek Film Threat 12/06/2005
3/5
There's a lot of Oscar timber here... Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 2d Success in 2 hours and 7 minutes. See more Terri N @RT36271462 Nov 30 I really liked this movie. Solid acting. And a difficult subject. A satisfactory ending while not being too cloying. It spoke to me which I cannot say of most of what I’ve seen. See more Jerod S @jeroduptown 01/26/2024 Solid acting and a gritty subject, One True Thing tells of Streep's journey through cancer and how it affects her family. When the pain became too much, her life was ended short and the framework for the film is Zellweger's interview with the investigator. See more 09/19/2023 There’s one true thing and that’s family Carl Franklin directs Renee Zelwegger, the late William Hurt, and Meryl Streep Zelwegger plays Ellen and Streep plays Kate Gulden, her mother Ellen was never close to her yet Kate was the matriarch Ellen’s a successful journalist in NYC but has to drop everything after her mother is diagnosed with cancer Her father doesn’t see her for what she is and Ellen has no idea how to be the mother of the house Secrets and revelations start popping up the more time she spends with her parents There’s truly some solid performances by everyone But this is so depressing it’ll make you feel not so blissful after it’s over It’s also 2 hours too long so 90 min would’ve sufficed It’s tough to sit through so have the tissues ready to wipe your eyes See more Nisha Y @Buff1980 05/24/2023 Little more than a made for tv movie on a low budget with a bad script. What were these actors thinking when they took the job? The plot has big holes and the interview with the lawyer that enables Renee Z extra screen time in close-ups has no narrative use. It's agenda to give voice to unappreciated house wives is extremely dated and drenched in cliches. See more 06/09/2022 Ellen Gulden (Renée Zellweger) is a career woman writing for a magazine who can't understand her mother (Meryl Streep) while looking up toher father, George (William Hurt), a fellow writer and literature professor. Yet when her mother gets sick with cancer, she must come home and learn to love her. This will force her to evaluate how she sees her father, as she discovers several long buried secrets from her mother. It also means giving up her life, a fact that she resents. The film was directed by Carl Franklin and written by Karen Croner, whose script was based on One True Thing by Anna Quindlen, a book based on her real life experiences. I usually avoid dramas like this, but I can recognize when a movie is well made. See more Read all reviews
One True Thing

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Movie Info

Synopsis Kate (Meryl Streep), the undervalued matriarch of the Gulden family, is diagnosed with cancer. Daughter and journalist Ellen (Renée Zellweger) returns from New York City to care for her mother at the request of her father (William Hurt). During the time Kate spends with her parents, she discovers secrets that she was never privy to in her childhood. Though Ellen has always idolized her father, she learns that her mother has had a much more difficult life than she knew.
Director
Carl Franklin
Producer
Harry J. Ufland, Jesse Beaton
Screenwriter
Anna Quindlen, Karen Croner
Distributor
Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co
Monarch Pictures, Universal Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 18, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$23.3M
Runtime
2h 7m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)