Bride-to-be Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) hears tales of romance and sorrow from her elders as they construct a quilt.Is this a chick flick or something more? I think it is primarily a chick flick, as it tells multiple romance stories from the point of view of the ladies. But it is not a romantic comedy, which makes it deeper than the average chick flick. And the cast... wow. Winona Ryder, Maya Angelou, Claire Danes and the debut of Jared Leto? That has to make it worth something.And actually, it was the cast that really made this enjoyable for me. I cared very little about the plot, and definitely did not care about the romances. Finn could be with her boyfriend, a foreign guy or whoever. I don't care who she picks. But the casting was excellent.

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

I would not normally choose to watch this type of movie, but it was the only thing on TV that was in English. Having said that, there was enough to keep me interested.Movies based on books must make trade-offs in terms of what stays and what goes. 'Quilt' couldn't make up its mind what to cut, so there is a bit of everything. I felt the movie was on fast forward for the entire time.The message was also a bit muddled. All men are schmucks? All women are schmucks? (but just more discreet about it). Marriage is crap? Marriage is about love? (i.e. the "where love reside" them of the quilt.At the end of the day, I expect a movie such as this to tell a good story. Stories, like real life, don't necessarily have clear messages. So putting all the artistic crap aside, this movie had a nice little story, and it was a decent way to spend a few hours.

How to Make an American Quilt is a nice comfortable movie, and unlike so many other films belonging to the 'coming of age' genre, it doesn't leave the viewer feeling emotionally drained. It is also unusual in that it attempts to breach the generation divide in its appeal; however its success in this respect is debatable. Finn is 26 and, hoping for some peace and quiet in which to complete her Master's thesis, she heads for her great-aunt's house in small-town Grasse, California. She also needs time to mull over a marriage proposal from her boyfriend. This is an entrance cue for a smoulderingly handsome strawberry farmer (in an unnecessary plot complication) to hinder Finn's contemplations. Great-aunt Glady-Joe lives with her sister, Hy, and their constant bickering is portrayed with sensitivity and humour by Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn. The two sisters belong to a quilting group, who are in the process of creating Finn's wedding quilt - thematically titled 'where love resides'. This evokes something different for each of the women, all of whom - in artificially contrived tete-a-tetes - explain to Finn the story behind their contributions to the quilt. The viewer is transported to a time when these elderly women were young, and through them we (along with Finn) learn that times may change, but affairs of the heart will always be unpredictable. These dalliances in the past are refreshingly piquant; unfortunately this is countered by the film's occasional heavy-handedness. The symbolic crow that leads the women to their true love has all the subtlety of a flashing neon sign. Ultimately however, even if it does perhaps tie up the loose ends too thoroughly, the film will leave the viewer pleasantly satisfied.