How to Make an American Quilt

How to Make an American Quilt
Directed by	Jocelyn Moorhouse
Written by	Whitney Otto (novel) Jane Anderson (screenplay)
Produced by	Sarah Pillsbury Midge Sanford
Starring	Winona Ryder Anne Bancroft Ellen Burstyn Kate Nelligan Alfre Woodard
Edited by	Jill Bilcock
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	October 6, 1995 (USA)
Running time	117 min.
Language	English

How to Make an American Quilt is a 1995 movie which was directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and stars Winona Ryder, Maya Angelou, Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft. It is based on a novel of the same name by Whitney Otto.

Story

The story centers on the stories of several women in a quilting bee as they construct a wedding quilt as a gift for a members' granddaughter, Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder). Finn is a Berkeley graduate student visiting her grandmother Hy (Ellen Burstyn) and great aunt Glady Jo (Anne Bancroft) in Grasse, California, over the summer to work on her master's thesis. During her stay the women share their stories, which leads her to reflect on her life and where it is headed.

Characters

Finn Dodd

Main character. Following a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney), Finn decides to visit her great aunt and grandmother to finish her thesis and think over the proposal. At her grandmother's house, a quilting group congregates, and she's shocked and surprised to discover that the current quilt that they're working on is a wedding gift for when she gets married. The theme of the quilt is "where love resides". Unsure whether she's ready for marriage or whether he's 'The One', the stories of the women in the quilting group open her eyes to the different kind of love that exist.

Sophia Darling

When she was young, Sophia (Samantha Mathis) was once a talented diver and she had dreams of escaping the small town she lives in and her overbearing mother. One day she meets a boy (Loren Dean) whilst diving at the local pool and romance ensues. He's attracted by her fearlessness and she believes he can take her away from her current, suppressive way of life. However, married life and motherhood turn out just to as, if not more suppressive and soon grinds her down. With three children and little help from her husband who is frequently away because of his job, she no longer has time to dive and eventually forgets the feeling of freedom and means of escape it gives her. One day she snaps at her husband when he digs a pond in the back garden for her to paddle in, in an attempt to remind her and regain the girl he fell in love with, and he realizes that the free spirit she once was has gone. One morning he ups and leaves for work, never coming back home. Abandoned, trapped in a life she didn't want and bitter, ironically, she ends up like her overbearing mother, particularly in her relationship with Finn.

Years later, when the wind blows part of Finn's thesis into the pond, she wades in to get it. With her feet in the pool she remembers when her husband tried to remind her off all those years ago, and one of her last scenes sees her diving off the high dive.

Em Reed

Being the wife of an artist apparently means that your husband will be promiscuous. Em, like most of the women in the story, marries young and despite the promiscuity of her husband Dean she sticks it out and stays with him. However, eventually after discovering yet another affair she leaves whilst pregnant. She returns to her parental home, but it still takes weeks before Dean comes to find her. She's forced to return to him by the lack of support and understanding of her parents who pack her bags and load them into Dean's car when he comes to beg forgiveness from Em.

Years later, she suspects Constance is having an affair with Dean, which causes friction between the two, however, she realizes that in his own way Dean does truly love her when she takes shelter in Dean's studio in a rain storm and discovers numerous paintings of her as she was then and now.

Glady and Hyacinth

Glady and Hyacinth are sisters and Finn’s great aunt and grandmother. Despite the love Hyacinth had for her husband when he was nearing death and in the hospital Hyacinth, in a moment of weakness and tragic emotion, slept with Gladdy’s husband. After Glady found out the truth, she smashed every one of her porcelain figurines and plastered them onto the wall of the laundry room as a reminder of her anger. Glady never really forgave her husband and does not forgive Hyacinth until the end of the movie which is symbolized by the demolition of the plastered walls in the laundry room when Gladdy Jo realises that her love for her sister overcomes fer feelings of betrayal.

Constance Saunders

Constance had a happy and fulfilling marriage until her husband dies and she's widowed young. When he was still alive, Constance’s husband gave her a dog to keep her company. Although she starts an affair with Dean, Em's husband, she knows that her love for her husband and her dog are her true companions. Her panel for Finn's wedding quilt depicts a yellow rose bush, which symbolizes the yellow rose bush that she buried her dog under after he dies.

Anna

Mother of Marianna. As a young servant she starts an affair with her master's son, Beck (Jared Leto), who's visiting from Chicago. She falls pregnant by him, and when her great Aunt finds out about the pregnancy she sends Anna away with their family story quilt (which she had sold to the mistress of the house). During her pregnancy Anna met Gladdy and Hyacinth when their family took Anna in. She becomes particularly close with Gladdy, teaching her to quilt. It's during one of these lessons that she starts labor, eventually giving birth to Marianna. It's only then that Anna realizes that her fancy notion of romantic love was nothing in comparison to the maternal love she felt for Marianna. Anna now orchestrates the quilting group.

Marianna

Daughter of Anna. Marianna gives the appearance of being in love with her promiscuous freedom until a moment of vulnerability comes in a conversation with Finn. She speaks of a man that she met in France. They meet, and spent one evening together during which they connect over a meeting of minds before she discovers that he's married. Although she has taken many lovers since, she realizes this man is her soul mate and she doesn't even know his name.

Cast

• Winona Ryder .... Finn Dodd
• Anne Bancroft .... Glady Joe Cleary
• Ellen Burstyn .... Hy Dodd
• Kate Nelligan .... Constance Saunders
• Alfre Woodard .... Marianna
• Kaelynn Craddick .... Young Finn
• Sara Craddick .... Young Finn
• Kate Capshaw .... Sally, Finn's Mother
• Adam Baldwin .... Finn's Father
• Dermot Mulroney .... Sam
• Maya Angelou .... Anna
• Lois Smith .... Sophia Darling Richards
• Jean Simmons .... Em Reed
• Denis Arndt .... James
• Paige and Ryanne Kettner .... Little Evie/Little Duff
• Rip Torn .... Arthur Cleary
• Samantha Mathis .... Young Sophia Darling Richards
• Claire Danes .... Young Glady Jo Cleary
• Lecy Goranson .... Young Hy Dodd
• Jared Leto .... Beck
• Mykelti Williamson .... Winston

External links

• How to Make an American Quilt at IMDb