Little Women review

LITTLE WOMEN: 

GRETA GERWIG BRINGS A SMART AND THOROUGHLY DELIGHTFUL UPDATE OF THE CLASSIC STORY TO THE SCREEN! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women (2019)

            Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) brings one of the most cherished and beloved stories of all time to the screen in Little Women, the seventh film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel of the same name chronicling the lives of four sisters surviving in an unfair society while their father is gone fighting in the Civil War. I’ve never read the book before and the only film adaptation I am familiar with is the 1994 version directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Winona Ryder which I revisited prior to watching this movie. 

            While I consider the 1994 film to be a solid adaptation it has gotten worse with age, the performances for the most part are really good, the dialogue is really sappy, has some pacing issues, and the third act drags which is why I personally prefer the first half of the movie with the women living together and slowly growing up over the last. It’s still a good movie, just not quite as strong as I remember. 

            Now, after earning unanimous acclaim with 2017’s Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig writes and directs a new take on the story with Amy Pascal (Ghostbusters (2016), Spider-Man franchise, The Post) and Little Women (1994) producer Denise Di Novi (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood) producing and featuring a star-studded cast including reuniting with Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots). Supposedly the 1994 version is a straight-forward adaptation of the story whereas this film earns the title “Greta Gerwig’s Little Women” as she is tasked to make a Little Women adaptation unlike anything we’ve seen before and taking this existing material and make it 100% her own while honoring not just the story but also the life of Louisa May Alcott. 

            I was a little skeptical when I saw the trailer because while it had a great lineup of actors and a phenomenal director, I kept asking myself, do we really need another Little Women adaptation, a story that’s been done to death many times before? Well, after seeing the movie I was able to quickly answer my own question, yes.

            The 1994 version has some nostalgia value, but this adaptation of Little Women is absolutely fantastic and surpasses it in just about every way. Gerwig takes this familiar story into a new direction and makes its themes all the more relevant for today’s audience while still capturing the spirit of its source material in a unique and absolutely delightful way. 

            Set in the 1860s, the film follows Jo March (Ronan), a young woman reflecting on her life both past and present through the pages of a book she had written and is trying desperately to get it published. Her book is based on the lives of Jo and her sisters Meg (Emma Watson-Harry Potter franchise, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Beauty and the Beast (2017)), Amy (Florence Pugh-Lady Macbeth, Fighting with My Family, Midsommar), Beth (Eliza Scanlen-Home and Away, Sharp Objects, The Devil All the Time), and their mother Marmee (Laura Dern-Blue Velvet, Jurassic Park, Wild) living in a male-dominated world while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. 

            Jo has a lot of ambition and passion in what she wants to do with her life most notably writing stories and plays with her sisters and their neighbor and friend Laurie (Timothée Chalamet-Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, The King), and exceeding men’s expectations of a woman. Women are apparently only good for their beauty and ability to marry and Jo isn’t having any of that as she decides to show the world that women should be respected for their minds and ambitions and not what they are labelled as by men. 

            The film also stars Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice, Florence Foster Jenkins, The Post) as Aunt March, Tracy Letts (Lady Bird, The Post, Ford v. Ferrari) as Mr. Dashwood, Bob Odenkirk (The Spectacular Now, The Post, Long Shot) as Father March, James Norton (Happy Valley, War & Peace, McMafia) as John Brooke, Louis Garrel (Regular Lovers, Love Songs, Redoubtable) as Friedrich Bhaer, Chris Cooper (October Sky, Adaptation, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) as Mr. Laurence, Jayne Houdyshell (Law & Order, Changing Lanes, Garden State) as Hannah, Abby Quinn (The Sisterhood of Night, Good Girls Get High, Mad About You (2019 TV series)) as Annie Moffat, and Maryann Plunkett (The Squid and the Whale, Blue Valentine, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) as Mrs. Kirke.

            Overall, Little Women (2019) stands above the rest as arguably the most unique adaptation of the classic story and a double win for writer-director Greta Gerwig. Gerwig brilliantly structures the film within the second half of the story where Jo is trying to get her book published in New York and the first part of the book is told through flashbacks which I thought was very clever and it helped make the film’s story flow much smoother compared to the 1994 version where I was invested in the first part of the story and the second half went on too long and I started to punch out, this one on the other hand was much better paced and I was thoroughly engaged in the story and characters all the way through because of it. 

            The acting is superb, and all the actors are perfectly cast for each role especially the March sisters. Ronan, Watson, Pugh, and Scanlen have absolutely wonderful chemistry together and not once did I think “Oh, these are just actors playing sisters” No, I believed I was watching real sisters whenever they were all on-screen retaining the story’s message about family and bringing it to life through their performances. 

            Little Women (2019) isn’t without its flaws though, most of the movie is perfectly paced and structured but there is one element that is glossed over, Jo’s relationship with Fredrich Bhaer, a professor at a boarding home whom Jo eventually falls in love with. It feels very rushed and there isn’t much time given to develop that part of the story, this is the one thing the 1994 film actually did better and it doesn’t ruin this version, but it was noticeable to me. 

            Little Women (2019) continues to show Greta Gerwig’s capabilities as a writer and director with a unique perspective on its beloved source material with its star-studded cast and timely themes as the heart and soul. It’s a wholesome, inspiring, and thoughtful love letter to women that must be seen no matter what gender or age you are.