Just what I expected

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

A story of a family coming together in the hardest of times, Meryl Streep gives another amazing performance as a mother who is stricken with cancer, she is a doting housewife and the family begins to fall apart as she is the glue that holds the family together. As Meryl's character, Kate, gets sicker the family's problems are unravelled.Meryl Streep is an exceptional actress and her emotional range in this movie is amazing to see. She goes from a fun-loving, outgoing mother to a more withdrawn and frightened but strong character through out this film's journey. Though the film does focus on Ellen, Kate's daughter, the performances by all the main and supporting actors are very strong. This has remained a top favourite of mine since i saw about 9 years ago. This is a film worth watching!

This is one of my favourite films of all time, no doubt about it. Everything about it is superb. While it may appear to be a film which mainly appeals to women, I think that the men should give it a chance too - a substantial part of the storyline is from George Gulden's (William Hurt) point of view, as the father of the family.Through 'One True Thing', we see how a family copes with disease - from everybody's point of view. Although we follow the story from Ellen Gulden's (Renee Zellweger) eyes, it never feels like we're missing out on anything.The strongest point of the film is the superb acting. Hurt and Zellweger give very strong, convincing performances, and the supporting cast are also very good; however, it's Meryl Streep who stands out here. I truly believe this to be not only one of her best performances to date, but one of the best ever. Her work in this film is absolutely astounding. She's everything and anything the film could require from her - and then so much more. What she brings to this role is truly magical; the woman is a genius. How she could have missed out on the Oscar that year, I have absolutely no idea.There isn't much more to say, except for SEE THIS FILM. It is all at once extremely insightful, moving, humorous and beautiful. You won't regret watching this one.

Apart from the DA (James Eckhouse), and a brief appearing woman who is convincingly sympathetic to Ellen Gulden's (Renee Zellweger)plight, Ellen herself is the only convincing character--and likable character in the movie. She is the one, not her dying mother, who should be and is--the one true thing. it's not only in the role, in Zellweger's acting, but also in the plot itself.... Until, the plot turns against itself--and makes the mother the "one true thing" in the eyes of her weak willed, shallow husband who can do nothing right for his wife or daughter. The daughter perceives what the viewer perceives, but such intelligent perceptions must give way to the shallow sentiment of the husband who is blanked out on both the realities of his wife and daughter. To boot, the one powerful scene in this whole movie, when Ellen confronts her father's cruelty, is given the lie at the end. Ellen is just another young strong woman who must be tamed into conformity by a crybaby father. A very flawed movie--so flawed as to be called a bore and not worth the time.

My comments may contain some SPOILERS so consider carefully whether you should read them if you have not seen the movie. George Gulden (William Hurt) is a literary professor and author, very disciplined, his wife (Meryl Streep) is not so intellectual, the daughter (Renee Zellweger) forms a closer bond with her father, the son with the mother. Even as a small child, while driving with the family, mother says 'look at those small cows.' Daughter answers, 'they are called calves', to set the tone for the daughter's disdain for her mother's limitations. The daughter grows up a Harvard graduate and a very aggressive investigative reporter in NYC. A visit home, it is clear daughter still worships dad, seeks his writing advice, but minimizes interaction with mom, who is still mom. Then the news, advanced inoperable cancer, mom is dying, dad matter of factly tells daughter she has to quit her job and move home to take care of mom. Reluctantly she does, through a series of incidents gets to know mom and what a beautiful person she is inside, at the same time finding out things about dad that shatter some of her hero worship. Part of the theme is to learn to accept the faults of others, as mom had done with dad, and now daughter has to do with both mom and dad. Near the end, dad tells daughter after mom's funeral, 'I loved your mother, she was my one true thing." Thus the title of the movie.Superb drama, with some of the best actors of our time.