One True Thing

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One True Thing

R,

1998,

2h 7m,

Drama

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86%

58 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

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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Critics Consensus

Solid performances lift this drama to a higher level.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 26, 2010

4/5

Probably won't appeal to teens.

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Time Out

Jan 26, 2006

The script shifts audience sympathies about quite adroitly, though it's a pity all the men had to be such humbugs.

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Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Apr 12, 2002

3/4

A well-oiled machine manufactured to tap our welled-up ducts.

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Jun 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.

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Film4

Jun 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.

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Tom Meek

Film Threat

Dec 6, 2005

3/5

There's a lot of Oscar timber here...

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Carl Franklin

Director

Meryl Streep

Kate Gulden

Renée Zellweger

Ellen Gulden

William Hurt

George Gulden

Tom Everett Scott

Brian Gulden

Lauren Graham

Jules

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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: MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal Pictures
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)

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