Directed By: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Starring: Winona Ryder, Dermot Mulroney, Alicia Goranson, Ellen Burstyn, Claire Danes, Anne Bancroft
Year: 1995
Running Time: 109 minutes
Genre: Comedy/ drama/ romance
Rating: 4
One of the most popular films amongst young female British teenagers in the 1990s was Jocelyn Moorhouse’s ‘How to make an American Quilt’. This poignant film, deeply significant of its time, carefully and concisely encapsulates 20th Century American life as seen through the eyes of a variety of ordinary women living in the same community at the time yet who originated from a myriad of backgrounds.
The film focuses on a Masters student, Finn (Winona Ryder), who is in the final throws of thesis-writing and considering what paths to follow professionally, geographically and romantically, much to the amusement of her long-term partner, Sam (Dermot Mulroney). As she speedily writes her final draft over a long, hot summer in the American Midwest, she encounters women in her grandmother, Hyacinth’s (Alicia Goranson/Ellen Burstyn) quilting club who have gathered together for one last time to make a wedding quilt for Finn and Sam. As the theme of the quilt is ‘where love resides’, the women use their time to recount their stories of the different kinds of love they have experienced in their lives.
Each of the stories is unique in the attitude the ‘narrator’ has to love generally and their relationships. Some of the stories are heart-breaking and thought-provoking and show how morals, inter-racial attitudes and gender-wise opinions have shifted over the previous century. A prime example being the black farm-worker in the 1930s is taken advantage of by the son of the range-owner with promises of future security and whispers of love, though, once she has given him all that he wants, she is quickly jilted without a backward glance and is left struggling to find a home and family whilst raising a baby with no money.
There is also an exploration of subsidiary issues related to love, including how one story can be viewed dramatically differently depending on the role of a particular character in a life story. The film shows how years before when Finn’s grandfather was dying slowly from a long battle with cancer, Hyacinth in a time of heartfelt grief and raw emotion calls her sister, Gladys Joe (Claire Danes/Anne Bancroft) for comfort. As Gladys cannot be contacted, Hyacinth reaches Gladys’ husband who rushes to the hospital to take Gladys’ role. A combination of male insecurity and female angst brings them to a compromising position after which both couples struggle to decipher the right path in their situation and even more so, to follow it.
‘How to make an American Quilt’ is a film which portrays the sensitivities and inner strength of women against a gorgeous hue of fall colours. It is a film for all who are aware of their weaknesses and need to know that others struggle with them and students who feel defeated by academia and are exhausted by decisions regarding the never certain future. Above all else, however, it is a film which inspires women and the men who support them to put their best foot forward in every situation, knowing that even if this life offers no rewards, the challenge and trials help us to shine.
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