The time was ripe for another Little Women remake. Originally released in 1868, the book by Louisa May Alcott has spawned seven adaptations in various languages prior to this one. But in a time of increasingly combative misogyny from throngs of shitheads both online and in real life, here comes Greta Gerwig (who directed and adapted the book) to deliver us another wonderful movie about support, compassion and empowerment.
Little Women tells the story of the March family: Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth are sisters during the American Civil War. They learn to deal with the trials that come along with that, like sickness, sexism and a father serving in the Union army.
If the Avengers were a group of white people in the 1800s instead of a group of mostly white people in the 2000s, and instead of a beam of light shooting into the sky it was scarlet fever, you’d have Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. The star power is simply overwhelming. Saoirse Ronan is Jo, the headstrong writer who is sure she will never marry. Florence Pugh plays Amy, a painter determined to be great, or nothing. Eliza Scanlen portrays Beth, a talented musician who provides a gentle morality to the group, and Emma Watson fills the role of Meg with a warmth that befits the eldest March sister. But the sisters aren’t the only great actors—Laura Dern, Bob Odenkirk and Meryl Streep are additional March family members, while Timothee Chalamet and Chris Cooper are their neighbors. Everyone brings their A-game with Chalamet, Ronan and Pugh really making the most of their screen time.
It is perhaps worth contrasting this iteration of the story with the 1994 adaptation, of which there are many fans. I did wind up preferring this version. Not only does Chalamet bring more darkness and bitterness to Laurie than Christian Bale, almost every updated casting works better. The only exception might be Kirsten Dunst as a young Amy in the 1994 version. Pugh does incredibly here, but it gets a little confusing when she is being asked to play a 13 year old in the earliest moments of the film.
This confusion is an aspect of my only other gripe with the film: the occasional mixing-up of the timeline. While not unmanageable, I did occasionally lose track of when in the story the scene was taking place. Despite this, the movie keeps you on track through costume changes (Jo’s new haircut certainly acts as a marker) and the way the timeline jumping is able to highlight symmetrical story aspects and themes makes this framing device more than worth it.
It’s likely that you already know if you’ll like this movie. It’s a period piece full of twee young stars. That does it for me, and I smiled through the entire movie. It’s a little on the long side, but I could have stayed in the Little Women Cinematic Universe forever. I can only imagine they’re planning to bring in Jennifer Lawrence for Little Women 2: Jefferson Davis’s Revenge. But if you don’t like these actors, or know you don’t like this sort of melodramatic story? You’re not going to get much out of it. If, on the other hand, you’re like me? Little Women is a great way to kick off 2020 and Greta Gerwig has proved that Lady Bird was no fluke. So, go see this movie. And who knows? You might just find that the littlest women were the friends we made along the way.
Comments are closed.