One True Thing Review
by "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" (nate AT pyramid DOT net)October 1st, 1998
One True Thing (1998)
Director: Carl Franklin
Cast: Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham
Screenplay: Karen Croner
Producers: Jesse Beaton, Harry J. Ufland
Runtime: 127 min.
US Distribution: Universal
Rated R: language
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson ([email protected])
One True Thing, based on the novel by Anna Quindlen, tells the story of an average small-town family afflicted with a crisis. The film stars Meryl Streep and William Hurt as Kate and George Gulden; Kate is your typical housewife, calmly cooking dinner each night and participating cheerily in her clubs, while George is a stoic literature professor at the local university. The story is actually told through the eyes of their daughter, Ellen (Rene Zellweger), who comes home for Thanksgiving in the beginning of the film.
It is at this point that Ellen learns that her mother has cancer. George insists that Ellen come home and stay with Kate, despite Ellen's intense journalism job in New York City. Ellen obligingly obeys her father's orders; initially, she hates what she has to do, and resents her mother for it. We learn that the two women weren't terribly close as Ellen was growing up, and that neither of them feels that they can get along with the other. Subplots arise when it becomes clear that George is more concerned with his work than his family life, and soon Ellen suspects that he's having an affair.
There are two types of goo: there's bad goo, in which the characters are weakly defined, weakly acted, and take part in a story that only wants to make you cry (and usually fails). Then there's good goo, in which the characterizations and acting are strong, and the story is at least marginally interesting and not completely contrived. One True Thing, for the most part, fits securely in the second form of goo. It is sentimental, and made many people in my screening cry profusely. But it's admirable in its triumph of characterization over manipulation, and ultimately it's a worthwhile bit of goo.
What really sets apart the film are the three terrific lead performances. Streep is a pro, and while it's clear that she can play a role like this without a lot of stretch-work, she's immensely appealing and always endearing. Hurt is also a well-seasoned performer, and is a rare screen presence who manages to rise above his familiar face and create a character worth watching. Oddly enough, One True Thing gets its real burst of life and emotion from Rene Zellweger (Jerry Maguire). It certainly helps that she's luminous and smart, but this alone isn't enough: her performance here is deep; it resonates and holds the film together on an emotional level. We endure all of Ellen's experiences through Zellweger, and this makes most of the difference between One True Thing and its bad-goo siblings.
The film isn't perfect, of course. Director Carl Franklin keeps the story at a good pace, but there are a few too many scenes that want to make us cry. I counted about six, spread out at even intervals through the second half of the film. That's not to say that these scenes aren't moving, for they are -- none of the sentimental moments in One True Thing reach that unbearable level of cloying insincerity. By the end, though, I felt like Franklin had tried to manipulated me too much. A little is okay, but I was exhausted from fending off an emotional response.
A film like this doesn't need a compelling story to be successful, but there are a lot of interesting themes explored in One True Thing. The bonds between mother and daughter, and also between father and daughter, are well-described (even if they aren't universal truths), and the family unity is very well executed by Franklin and the actors. It's so much easier to wimp out and make a film of bad goo that might superficially please audience members; I was glad to sit through One True Thing and find that my heartstrings hadn't been yanked by big heavy chains.
*** out of ****
(7/10, B)
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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