Synopsis

Ellen Gulden, a driven New York writer, returns to her childhood home after her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Pressured to become her mother's caregiver, Ellen must put her career and relationship on hold. As the family's carefully maintained image begins to crack, she reconsiders her parents, her childhood loyalties, and the sacrifices hidden beneath their domestic life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The screenplay was adapted by Karen Croner from Anna Quindlen's novel, published in 1994.

• Quindlen drew on her own experience of losing her mother, Prudence Pantano Quindlen, to ovarian cancer in 1972.

• Much of the film was shot in New Jersey, including locations in Morristown and Maplewood. Princeton University was also used for filming.

• Bette Midler performs "My One True Friend" over the end credits. The song first appeared on her 1998 album Bathhouse Betty.

• Meryl Streep received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The nomination was one of the film's most significant awards-season honors.

• Released by Universal Pictures on September 18, 1998, the film runs approximately two hours and eight minutes and was rated R.