Review of How to Make an American Quilt (1995) by Stuart K — 28 Apr 2014

Directed by Australian Jocelyn Moorhouse (Proof (1991) and A Thousand Acres (1997)) and based on the bestseller by Whitney Otto. This character led drama, which has some good performances and is very moving.

But, it's very episodic, and the only central core weaving it together, (pardon the analogy), are the quilts the title suggests, but it doesn't manage to outstay it's welcome. Finn (Winona Ryder) is a young graduate student who has just completed a master's thesis and is due to be married to Sam (Dermot Mulroney).

However, before that happens, Finn wants to spend one last summer of freedom with her great aunt Glady Joe (Anne Bancroft) and grandmother Hyacinth (Ellen Burstyn), who have a family tradition of making quilts, which has been passed through the family and friends including Sophia Darling (Lois Smith), Em Reed (Jean Simmons) and Anna (Maya Angelou).

As the older generation pass around stories of their love lives and their hardships in love. Finn begins to question whether Sam might be right for her, and her course too. It's a soppy chick-flick which mixes love, heartache, a splash of humour and haberdashery too.

But it's another romantic film that shows love isn't perfect, and neither is life. It has some great actors in it too, with appearances from Jared Leto, Rip Torn, Richard Jenkins, Claire Danes, Adam Baldwin and Kate Capshaw.