How to Make an American Quilt *** (1995, Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Nelligan, Alfre Woodard) – Classic Movie Review 7432

Director Jocelyn Moorhouse’s 1995 American drama How to Make an American Quilt is based on the 1991 novel by Whitney Otto, with a screenplay by Jane Anderson, and stars Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Nelligan and Alfre Woodard.

It was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

How to Make an American Quilt is a prime example of one of those ‘They Came To Talk’ type movies that will send some audiences screaming out of the cinema. It is certainly worthwhile for the remarkable cast and its warm nature and good intentions, but the drama and some of the performers seem to be struggling in a somewhat hesitant and uneven movie that more often than not feels contrived and unreal.

Winona Ryder stars as young graduate student and bride-to-be Finn Dodd, who is about to marry to her fiancé Sam (Dermot Mulroney) and hears tales of romance and sorrow from her elders as they make her wedding gift quilt. Ryder’s earnest performance is a slim peg to hang this movie on.

The cast are Winona Ryder as Finn Dodd, Kaelynn and Sara Craddick as young Finn Dodd, Anne Bancroft as Glady Joe Cleary, Claire Danes as young Glady Joe Cleary, Ellen Burstyn as Hy Dodd, Lecy Goranson as young Hy Dodd, Lois Smith as Sophia Darling Richards, Samantha Mathis as young Sophia Darling, Jean Simmons as Em Reed, Joanna Going as young Em Reed, Kate Nelligan as Constance Saunders, Alfre Woodard as Marianna Neale, Maya Angelou as Anna Neale, Kate Capshaw as Sally Dodd, Loren Dean as Preston Richards, Dermot Mulroney as Sam, Derrick O’Connor as Dean Reed, Tim Guinee as young Dean Reed, Rip Torn as Arthur Cleary, Mykelti Williamson as Winston, Jared Leto as Beck, Adam Baldwin as Mr Dodd, Johnathon Schaech as Leon, Denis Arndt as James, Paige and Ryanne Kettner as Little Evie/Little Duff, and Tamala Jones as Anna’s Great Grandmother.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7432

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