One True Thing Review
by "Luke Buckmaster" (bucky AT alphalink DOT com DOT au)June 11th, 1999
ONE TRUE THING
Cast: Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott Director: Carl Franklin
Screenplay: Karen Croner based on the novel by Anna Quindlen Reviewed by Luke Buckmaster
On the Buckmaster scale of 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 3 and a half stars
It's hard to know whether One True Thing should be classified as a mainstream or art house production. There are definite Hollywood touches in the film, evident in its opening and closing images that tinker on the verge of portraying glossy sentimentality. But the majority of the film is habituated with emotional resonance, both profound and unsophisticated, that philosophizes about the togetherness of a family that is, by social definition, far from faultless.
Scriptwriter Karen Croner - who adapted the screenplay from Anna Quindlen's novel - succeeds so well in crafting her very domestic characters by realizing that there is nothing incredibly unique about them. Even in Meryl Streep's dying character - a woman who is suffering from terminal cancer - the 'one true thing' in her life is the simple fact that she is related by blood and love to the rest of her family. She is neither a self-pronounced nor a publicly proclaimed hero; she doesn't arrive at a conclusion that puts the rest of her life in perspective. She is simply a mother, a wife, a decent person, and somebody who finds joy from establishing happy relationships. This passionate view on motherhood and families is at times given a cynical edge by director Carl Franklin, who generally achieves what he intends to. At its best, One True Thing explores the isolation and unity of a family, and the things that bring them together as well as the things that tear them apart.
Kate Gulden (Meryl Streep) is cheerful mother who lives a peaceful life in a small American town with husband George (William Hurt). After Kate is admitted into hospital for an operation that will hopefully remove a terminal cancer from her body, George asks daughter Ellen (Renée Zellweger) to take leave from her busy New York life as a journalist so she can take care of her mother. Ellen reluctantly obliges, and soon learns the demanding requirements for being the maintainer of a household. She experiences first-hand the life in which Kate lives, and as her cancer worsens, Kate relies on Ellen for physical and emotional support. But Ellen also has matters of her own to take of, including her desperate attempts to keep her job and her growing suspicion and frustration of her father, who is seldom at home.
The story is more of a mediation than a narrative, and that suits the film's direction, which relies heavily on the strength of its performers. Thankfully Franklin draws exceptional performances from his talented cast, ranging from Renée Zellwege's subtle portray of emotional pain to Meryl Streep's display of physical suffering. William Hurt is also very fine, and displays a knack for questioning the audience as to whether they should love or hate his character. One True Thing's ensemble cast lifts the film to heights that would have been otherwise impossible to reach.
One True Thing does have its drawbacks, though, as not everything in the film is as bittersweet as perhaps I have made it out to be. Franklin's direction sometimes feels like he is trotting over the same ground again and again, not really going anywhere, but rather building a more reclusive and isolated atmosphere for his characters to revolve in. Strangely, it does pay off well, with an ending that is quite satisfying considering that we know roughly what is going to happen from the very first scene.
"Less is more," says William Hurt in the film, and that quote is appropriate to Franklin's use of Karen Croner's script. Some of the power he exemplifies comes from the things that he doesn't explain or elaborate on, which perhaps motivated him to refuse to round off One True Thing in the happy and resolved way that made Stepmom - this year's other film about a woman dying of cancer - pretentious and irritating. This is one piece that intelligently illustrates the faults and merits of reasonable people. None are squeaky clean, and there are no heroes or enemies. But the very humane message that powers this film is, although a touch too simplistic, enough to instigate an emotional reaction from viewers. It wants to conclude with a happy ending, but, like life, happiness is in the eye of the beholder.
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Review © copyright Luke Buckmaster
Read more of my reviews at In Film Australia
http://infilmau.iah.net
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
