One True Thing (1998)

A career woman reassesses her parents' lives after she is forced to care for her cancer-stricken mother.

Director:

Carl Franklin

Writers:

Anna Quindlen (novel), Karen Croner (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Kate Gulden
Renée Zellweger	...	Ellen Gulden
William Hurt	...	George Gulden
Tom Everett Scott	...	Brian Gulden
Lauren Graham	...	Jules
Nicky Katt	...	Jordan Belzer
James Eckhouse	...	District Attorney
Patrick Breen	...	G.A. Tweedy
Gerrit Graham	...	Oliver Most
David Byron	...	Senator Sullivan
Stephen Peabody	...	Harold
Lizbeth MacKay	...	Dr. Cohen
Mary Catherine Wright	...	Clarice
Sloane Shelton	...	Evelyn Best
Michele Shay	...	June

Storyline

When a tough New Yorker's mother is stricken with a serious illness, she is forced to quit her job and her relationship with her boyfriend to take care of her, finding out a lot of things she didn't know about her mother and father and her life along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | female protagonist | melodrama | dysfunctional family | terminal illness | 

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Taglines:

Love What You Have.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

18 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cosas que importan

Filming Locations:

Morristown, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,606,455, 20 September 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$23,245,840

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monarch Pictures,Ufland,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger and William Hurt.

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Goofs

In some birthday-party scenes, daylight is visible through some windows, and lighting on the staircase suggests daylight, although the action is supposed to be at night, and other windows show darkness outdoors.

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Quotes

George Gulden: It's only in going uphill that you realize you're headed downhill.

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Connections

References Cry Freedom (1987)

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Soundtracks

Paraiso de dulzura
Written by Hector Lavoe
Performed by Hector Lavoe
Courtesy of Fania Records Sonido, Inc.

User Reviews

A Sombre Movie With Good Performances

The DVD jacket in which this movie came describes it as "uplifting and humorous." Those are not the words I would have chosen - not by a long shot. I would choose a word like "sombre," sometimes even "depressing." Which isn't to say that it's a bad movie. It's actually a pretty good movie, featuring good performances from the leads, with enough uncertainty throughout about what's going to happen at the end that you keep watching. The uncertainty comes from the structure of the movie - it seems to revolve around Ellen's reminiscences of her mother's slow death from cancer, as she is interviewed by the DA. So, we know from the start that something suspicious happened at the end - the questions are "what?" and "who?"

Renee Zellweger was very good as Ellen - the somewhat resentful daughter who has to give up her life and job in New York to return home to care for her sick mother. Ellen evolves through the movie - moreso than any other character - as she learns to deal with both the strengths and weaknesses of her parents. Her relationship with her father (William Hurt) is quite interesting. My initial impression was that they were quite close, but the warts in the relationship start to show after a while. Hurt was effective as the detached husband - detached not in an uncaring way, but in the sense of being unable to cope with what's happening to his wife, and seeking escape from it in various ways. Finally, Meryl Streep as the cancer-stricken Kate was very convincing in the role, seeking to live out what remains of her life in the most fulfilling way possible, then dealing with the anger she feels at her increasing debilitation. In a way, watching a family deal with this kind of crisis reminded me a little bit of "Ordinary People," although this movie was far less emotionally intense. So, not "uplifting and humorous" (with all due respect to whoever wrote the synopsis on the DVD jacket) but very good in its own way. 7/10