How to Make an American Quilt

REVIEW
By no means a great film, How to Make an American Quilt is probably the most successful of 1995's many female ensemble pieces (Waiting to Exhale, Moonlight and Valentino, Now and Then, etc.). While all of these films feature good performances and an engaging rapport between the costars, Moorhouse's drama has a definition of character and poignancy which elevates it. Ryder is a college student who spends her summer vacation with her grandmother (the always tangy Bancroft). As the young woman looks to set her romantic and academic lives in order, she becomes enmeshed in Bancroft's quilting circle, a group of mostly older women who all share a past of secrets, pain and camaraderie. With so many stories weaving through the narrative, one or two may not be as dramatically exciting, but each member of the film's terrific cast heartens the tale with a refreshing, robust liveliness.