One True Thing (1998)
Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellwegger) is a writer for a magazine in New York. Her father, George (William Hurt), is a semi-famous author and professor who can’t seem to write a second novel. Her mother, Kate, (Meryl Streep) is a housewife. When Kate is diagnosed with cancer, Ellen is coerced to stay home and care of her.
After Kate dies. George and Ellen each think the other gave her the fatal dose of morphine. When they realize she ended her own life, they wax philosophically about how brave she was; her suicide is elevated to a grandiose act, the best thing she could have done with her life.
Kate Gulden is a misunderstood housewife who sacrificed an opportunity to lead an interesting, useful life, so her husband could. She takes joy in being a mother and wife, and finds fulfillment in the accomplishments of her children and husband. This one-dimensional role is beneath Meryl’s talent.
William Hurt is good at playing self-centered assholes. George Gulden wants to be a better husband and father, but wants to sleep with his young students more. His humiliation by a visiting Pulitzer Prize winning poet at Thanksgiving dinner is the highlight of the film.
Renee Zellwegger was cute in Jerry Maguire (1996). She saved Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). She was fantastic in Chicago (2002), and her work in Cold Mountain (2003) was excellent. But she can’t rise above the whininess of Ellen Gulden, who’s no different from millions of others who struggle with stepping out from behind their parent’s shadow.
Adapted from a novel by Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Anna Quindlen whose mother died from ovarian cancer when she was 19, the film feels like an attempt to work through feelings of guilt and loss. Claustrophobic with long patches of dialogue, this would have been better served on the stage.
Having seen the film, I’m not sure what the titular true thing is. Family? Dying with dignity? Loving someone, despite their faults?
The Special Relationship (2010)
When Tony Blair was elected, the press cast him as the British equivalent to Bill Clinton: a young, baby boomer leader of a left-leaning party.
In the beginning, Clinton clearly the better politician, manhandles the naive Prime Minister. However, by the end of the film, Blair, having learned from Clinton and his time in office, skillfully manipulates the scandal plagued President.
Having played Tony Blair in two previous films: The Deal (2003), and The Queen (2006), I picture Michael Sheen’s face when I see a story about Blair. He inhabits the former Prime Minister in a way few people can when they portray very famous people.
Dennis Quaid captures the spirit of Bill Clinton, but his performance occasionally slides into caricature.
Hope Davis does a good impression of Hilary Clinton, but her performance is overshadowed by Helen McCory’s Cherie Blair.
This fun movie demonstrates how individual personalities determine the fates of nations. Bill and Hillary’s struggles with the Lewinsky scandal is excellent and the private conversation between the Blairs about the scandal mirrors the countless conversations American families were having.
The movie ends as Clinton’s term of office expires and Blair contemplates his relationship with the next US President, reminding us the relationship between the two nations continues even as the players change.