"Less is NOT more!"      

ONE TRUE THING (R) 

Reviewed September 18, 1998 - Check out the One True Thing Website.

On one hand, One True Thing really feels like one of those sentimental, made-for-TV movies we've all seen so many times before.  Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellweger), an ambitious young journalist working in New York, reluctantly leaves her work in order to care for her ailing mother Kate (Meryl Streep).  She does this at the behest of her father George (William Hurt), a writer and academician who is both loving and distant towards his family.  Struggling to reconcile her own life goals with the needs of her family, Ellen slowly discovers truths about her mother, her father, herself and her family, and so on and so on...

Yes, One True Thing has a bit of a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" feel to it, and just for that I'm sure many will pass on this movie in favor of some other Hollywood blockbuster currently in release.  That, I think, would be a mistake.  Sentimental storyline aside, One True Thing is a welcome surprise in depth, intelligence and complexity--not only in its characters but also in each of the actors' performances.  Streep, as you'd expect, is brilliant as usual, painting a subtly powerful picture of the selfless but slowly weakening Kate.  However, of equal (if not greater) brilliance in this film is Zellweger and her portrayal of young Ellen, a woman who keeps the family together by in essence becoming her mother, something she never wanted to do.  Even William Hurt, who has been somewhat lackluster in recent roles, comes through with a compelling performance which adds to the realism in this family relationship. 

The overall effect of One True Thing is all at once touching, thought-provoking, uplifting and sad, making it a film definitely worth seeing.  Director Carl Franklin (One False Move, Devil in a Blue Dress) handles this story with both confidence and restraint, allowing us to see some rich performances and memorable characters without subjecting us to the heavyhanded melodramatics often attributed to Hollywood "tearjerkers."  Less is more, more is more...try One True Thing and find out for yourself...