One True Thing (1998) Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham, Nicky Katt, James Eckhouse, Patrick Breen, Gerrit Graham, Davud Byron, Stephen Peabody, Lizabeth MacKay. Screenplay by Karen Croner, based on the novel by Anna Quindlen. Directed by Carl Franklin. 117 minutes. Rated PG-13, 4 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com/film/ Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
Based on advertisements alone, it would be easy to mistake "One True Thing" for just another tearjerker, but the film is actually much more than that. Written and acted with a remarkable sense of detail, this rich drama investigates one of life's most baffling mysteries: how our parent's marriages work.
I'm not being glib here. At one time or another, we've all studied our parents and thought, "Who ARE these people? How can they live like this? How can they stand each other?" Early in life, we pass judgment on them as individuals and as a couple. Days turn to years, years turn to decades, but we rarely bother to review those evaluations to determine if they were actually valid.
In the 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel on which the film is based, author Anna Quindlen states, "Our parents are never real people to us. They are... Achilles' heels, dim nightmares, vocal tics, bad noses, hot tears, all handed down and us stuck with them." "One True Thing" shows what happens when circumstances force an adult child to deal with her mother and father on a level different from that with which she is accustomed.
Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellweger) is an ambitious investigative reporter whose career defines her life. When a family emergency strikes, she cedes to her father's demands and returns home from New York to care for her ailing mother. Struggling in vain to balance journalism by long distance with her newfound household duties, she finds her carefully crafted life dissolving, and all of her childhood resentments returning to the surface.
The Gulden family dynamics will seem familiar to many. Patriarch George (William Hurt) is a respected literary professor and celebrated author. Always ready with a studied quip or well-worn anecdote, George takes his role as leader and perpetual center of attention as a given. Even as adults, Ellen and her brother Brian (Tom Everett Scott) find themselves concealing their failings from Dad, still striving to gain approval from the lord of the manor.
The consummate homemaker, wife and mother Kate (Meryl Streep) appears to live only to serve. In Ellen's eyes, she seems almost trivial, an appendage to her husband rather than a self-realized individual. When Kate falls ill and George badgers his daughter into taking a sabbatical to help her mother, Ellen lands in a personal hell as she haplessly attempts to play the role of housewife.
This is the stuff of countless sappy TV movies, but "One True Thing" has the substance and integrity most dramas about family lack. The handsome production is reminiscent of "Ordinary People" in its rich, stirring depiction of the realities beneath the surface of an upper-class family. Karen Croner's screenplay, based on Quindlen's bestseller, is precise and extremely insightful, taking stereotypical characters and turning them into real people. Having an all-star cast doesn't hurt, either.
Tom Everett Scott is effective in a supporting role as the easygoing son who takes after his mother while deferring to his dad. William Hurt gives one of his best performances in years, with his prickly, cerebral persona perfectly suited to this role. George is much like Mary Tyler Moore's character in "Ordinary People"; he loves his family, but is self-absorbed and lacks crucial nurturing skills. "One True Thing" refuses to write off George as a villain, though, instead exploring the self-doubt and fear beneath this damaged man's exterior.
As Kate, Meryl Streep is simply extraordinary, investing the character with remarkable depth and humanity, without ever seeming pious or mannered. Kate's essence is best explained when she refers to her husband's literary mantra, "Less is more," and tells her daughter, "I disagree with your father. More is more." Streep is especially good in scenes depicting the latter stages of Kate's illness, effectively conveying the difficulties in trying to retain her composure while pain and fatigue batter her soul.
Renee Zellweger has perhaps the most difficult role in the film, representing all adults in the audience who have ever rolled their eyes in frustration over the conduct of their parents. As our surrogate, Zellweger nails our generation's behavior with often uncomfortable accuracy. She does her duty for the family, but makes sure those around her understand exactly how much of a sacrifice she is making. Her periodic whining and petulant manner are difficult to watch because she reflects us so very well.
Honest, perceptive and moving, "One True Thing" builds to a revelatory climax, forcing you to rethink everything you've seen up to that moment. You'll likely do considerable thinking after you've left the theater as well. "One True Thing" makes a simple, but powerful suggestion: maybe our long-held assessments of our parents are wrong. We grew up asking, and generally receiving, second chances from Mom and Dad. Perhaps it's time to return the favor.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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