Little Women-Bold Classic Remake
4 out of 5 Stars
By Scott
Little Women is a 2019 American coming of age period drama film written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, Tracey Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper and Meryl Streep.
Little Women had its world premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on December 7, 2019 and was released theatrically in the United States on December 25, 2019 by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film has grossed over $138 million worldwide. It received six nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Pugh), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also received five nominations for the British Academy Film Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
When the film begins, we meet Jo March (Ronan) who is a teacher in New York City. She goes to an editor, Mr. Dashwood (Letts), and gets a story published subject to considerable editing. The film goes back and forth following the irrepressible March family in Civil War era Massachusetts. Sisters, Jo, Amy (Pugh), Meg (Watson), and Beth (Scanlen) live with their mother (Dern) while their father (Odenkirk) serves in the Union Army. The sisters are always up to something, talking about someone, staging a play, constantly with a whirlwind of energy. Scenes from their youth are juxtaposed with their lives seven years later, showing us how their shared childhood shaped who they’ve become. Along for the ride is Laurie (Chalamet), a boy from a neighboring family whose charming yet occasionally self-centered demeanor makes him alternately a love interest and object of scorn for Jo and Army.
Who has not read or seen one of the seven film adaptations of this story? It was also adapted as a ballet, play and opera. Director Greta Gerwig admitted this novel was her favorite growing up. She saw Jo as her heroine of her youth and Louisa May Alcott as her heroine of her adulthood. When she first learned that Gerwig was the director of this film, who also directed her in Ladybird, Saoirse Ronan immediately reached out to Gerwig and told her she decided she was going to play Jo March. Gerwig suddenly realized that Ronan’s actions were exactly what Jo March would do. Gerwig sent an email to her that said, “Yes, you’re Jo.” Gerwig, for the first time took a brave step by telling this story, weaving the past and present. Some people felt it was confusing at times, but her innovative approach, technique and style were successful. The timing, music by Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water) and cinematography by Yorick Le Saux make this classic a mesmerizing experience. I was disappointed that Gerwig did not receive a nomination for best director. She deserved it and is quickly becoming one of the finest young directors of film in the world.
I gave this film 4 out of 5 stars because of what I mentioned previously. The other dynamic that made this film successful was the acting. Ronan and Pugh were nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures. Laura Dern was also outstanding as the kind and understanding mother, Marmee March. There are five actors in this film (Cooper, Dern and Streep) who have been recognized in the past by the Academy of Motion Pictures. Ronan is a rising star and this is the second film in which she and Katherine Hepburn have shared the same role (Mary Queen of Scots). At the climax, we see the story being printed, stitched and bound in leather. Alcott would be proud to know that after a century and a half, her version has been updated in plot and character without robbing them of their time and place in the world. This classic story is timeless and will continue to echo the message of love, family and sisterhood.