Um Amor Verdadeiro

I don't cry easily over movies, but I have to admit, this one brought me to tears. Although I am not a Ms. Streep fan, her performance was excellent. The title defines in a sentence what a mother's love is. For the first hour I didn't like any of the characters, but that changed as the movie went on. The movie also explained why certain marriages last even though there are obstacles. A must see film.

I enjoyed this movie as much as you can, given the subject matter. Streep is completely amazing, Renee has some great moments, and Hurt does his usual preppy jerk routine. Several scenes will make you cry, but this is not the usual fatal-disease-in-the-family fare that you might expect it to be, thanks to Carl Franklin, who keeps the story fresh when stereotypes and cliches prevail.

As William Hurt also said in The Accidental Tourist, "Less..is invariably more". I guess many of us do live in denial, trying to slip through life as if certain things weren't happening. It is true that rude awakenings sometimes are the only ways for some of us to open our eyes and smell the coffee.

William Hurt executed the egotistic father's role like no one ever has before. He is gifted at portraying the role of the "blind" husband. I guess if Kathleen Turner had played the wife's part in this movie he would have had a much harder time. I believe the three of them (Hurt, Streep and Zellweger) portrayed a real family story, something far from the typical Hollywood drama. They were able to show the strong and weak sides of being human and bearing family responsibilities. Very beautiful movie, very descriptive with several not-so-long scenes. Indeed, sometimes less..is invariably more.

One True Thing is an beautifully made film with an established cast. Renee Zellweger plays the journalist daughter of Meryl Streep and William Hurt, who also put in excellent performances.

Zellweger shines in the emotional movie as she discovers her childhood memories of her parents are not what she thinks they are. Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls also has a part in this movie as Ellen's (Zellweger) friend Jules, although this is a bit part, she truly adds to the storyline.

A moving and beautiful story, I recommend it. 8/10 Stars

What impressed me the most about "One True Thing" was how up-front it was when the daughter mentions her mother's cancer at the beginning of the movie. As depressing the subject matter was, it was a refreshing change of pace instead of being blindsided with the revelation about a character's fatal illness 2/3 into the movie ("Love Story" "Terms of Endearment", etc.).

Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger and William Hurt give very strong performances that don't go over the edge. The characters they play seem human; they're not perfect people. (Arguably, one might not say that about the "Martha Stewart"-type character Streep plays but throughout the film, I found her character to be noble in a non-sappy way. She's dealing with her plight the best way she knows how.)

"One True Thing" is an observant, unsentimental family drama in which the tears at the end were well-earned.