How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

the audience applauded

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

I'll save you some time. Gents, feel free to skip this movie. Based off the Whitney Otto novel, How to Make an American Quilt shows the audience a confused woman and the journey she takes to find herself as she talks to the women in her knitting group. If you like those kinds of "girl power" movies like Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood or Fried Green Tomatoes, you'll definitely want to watch this one.I don't happen to like those kinds of movies, so despite the large cast—Winona Ryder, Afre Woodard, Jean Simmons, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Maya Angelou, and Kate Nelligan—I didn't like this movie. Many women will find this movie touching and heartwarming, but it did nothing for me. The overriding theme is that every woman is a patchwork product of the other women in her life, so when we choose our path of love, it's not really because we're choosing it; it's because all the other women's experiences in love have taught us and shaped us. I've never been a huge fan of estrogen-fest films, but if you like them, rent this one with your girlfriends.

How to Make an American Quilt is a movie filled with excellent actors, and a so so storyline. Finn Dodd is spending the summer with her grandmother, great aunt and their quilting bee supposedly to finish her master's thesis, but in reality to think things over after her boyfriend proposes.Once she arrives she finds the quilting bee is making her a quilt based on their own experiences with love. We then go through the ritual flashbacks to learn that most of these women dealt with some kind of love related trauma in their pasts. Finn is also tempted by the local hunk and his abs before she ultimately decides whether she intends to get married to the boyfriend she left back in Berkeley.Burstyn, Bancroft, Angelou and Nelligan all do a splendid job, and Alfre Woodard deserves special notice simply because her flashback is the one variance in the movie and she does a lot with a small part. Ryder is very appealing as well. The weakness of the movie is Ryder's men. Both are very underdeveloped. Mulroney is just bland, while Schaech's character is completely defined by his well sculptured body. It is never clear why Finn makes the choice she does, and this is the ultimate weakness of the movie, along with the fairly predictable flashbacks showing the various ways these women have been wronged by men. However, the quilts shown throughout the film are just beautiful.

Women's own film about love and relationships, commitment and infidelity. Jane Anderson's script (from Whitney Otto's novel) tells of student Finn's sumer holiday with her grandmother and great Aunt, where she carefully considers boyfriend Sam's marriage proposal. Here she learns of the lives and loves of the members of the quilting bee that her grandma is part of.Jocelyn Moorhouse takes this project, a personal passion, to heart. She directs with purpose, giving the film a her own special touch. "American Quilt" meanders along as it tells of each woman's past, while Moorhouse ties it all up with a common theme. The pic only loses its way at the end with a dreadfully concocted, sentimental finale.An ensemble cast deliver some enjoyable performances, led by the fresh, attractive Winona Ryder, and supported by Ellen Burstyn, Anne Bancroft, Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, Samantha Mathis, Lois Smith, Maya Angelou, Kate Capshaw, Melinda Dillon, Dermot Mulroney, Rip Torn, Derrick O'Connor and Loren Dean. Quite an assembly.Aussie director Moorhouse is backed up by compatriot editor Jill Bilcock ("Evil Angels"), who wields the knife astutely, while Janusz Kaminski ("Schindler's List") wields the camera with equal effect. Thomas Newman compliments the film with a pleasing score.Anderson and Moorhouse have focused the pic on the many choices women face, and the disappointments they have in relationships and matters of love. They fail to give the male players any depth, leaving them rather two dimensional. Story poses the question : How do we ever know if we've met the one person we should spend the rest of our lives with, or if we're ever meant to be with just one person at all? An answer though, is not provided, perhaps because, as this film seems to suggest, there is no one answer.Saturday, August 24, 1996 - Waverley Pinewood Cinema

Though it seems apparent that this film could have gone in one of many directions, the director chose an enjoyable and fairly plausible one.Every one "cheats" in their marriage is pretty much the theme, but forgiveness completes the circle broken by infidelity.The story telling devices are simple---easy to follow and on some level "wonderous" to behold. If you are prone to a tear or two, get out a hankie. I just thought it was nicely done.