Little Women Review

Little Women - An Outstanding Adaptation


Everything about this film from the announcement seemed like it would be a massive success, it is a perfect storm of creative voices adapting one of the most iconic stories of all time and it is probably one of my favorite films from 2019. You can tell auteur Greta Gerwig put so much effort and personal touches into this film, she deserves every accolade and attention this film has garnered her because it is a pitch-perfect combination of precise writing and directing. I am not a fan of period pieces or this kind of story, I find them a bit distant and a lot of them tend not to age very well but there is something so modern and refreshing about this adaptation that I instantly fell in love. It is an inspiring and emotional tale of family, empathy and understanding and an incredibly refreshing unique film that we really needed at this time. 

I think everyone is somewhat familiar with the story of the March families in some way, the story is a stable of literature and has inspired generations for years but Gerwig uses this familiarity to her advantage when retelling the story. This is uncompromisingly a modern-day perspective on this narrative, Gerwig writes these characters in a way that pays homage to their original characterization and staying true to the time period yet still managing to make them feel breathtakingly relatable and modern. The narrative is reinvented by Gerwig using a non-linear style to the plot, this breaks the story into several different stories running simultaneously but with heartfelt connections between them. It is a stroke of genius and the editing is one of the most pitch-perfect things about the film, I love how Gerwig uses this to tell stories behind certain interactions, retroactively explain character decisions and motivations by showing their experiences is a heartfelt way of portraying how little we know about each other's life stories. Instead of character flaws and inconsistencies feeling frustrating, we immediately understand how these flaws manifested without ever feeling forced or obnoxious, through this, we get some of the most emotional scenes of the film. It is the prime example of being narratively unconventional and interesting rather than confusing and without purpose.

One of the absolute standout it Gerwig's writing is her characterization of the March siblings, which unsurprisingly is the focus of the film. They all originally feel like one-note characters when you first meet them, but the way Gerwig writes these characters is downright beautiful. Jo March is much more than just 'rebellious sister', she becomes this character of intimate complexity, it feels fitting that Ronan portrays her as she brings that infectious anarchism of her character Ladybird yet manages to maintain them vulnerabilities. She is by far my favorite element and Gerwig writes her to perfection, it is so refreshing to have taken on characters that are a cliche by now by their very nature, yet manage to make them feel new and distinct. The biggest change and most admirable character growth is that of Amy March, played by Florence Pugh, she originally feels like Jo's foil and nothing much more, but Pugh transforms her into quite a daring and upsetting image of a woman trying to adapt to what the society wants of her, whilst Jo obviously rebels, Amy tries to excel. Pugh is nothing short from absolutely incredible, I am so happy she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as it is a fantastic piece of work. It is stuff like this that Gerwig pushes to the forefront of the film, it isn't merely subtext or insubstantial themes, it is the focus and her personal directive that the film is based around. It is fascinating to use an iconic and established narrative and create something that feels so modern and refreshing without resorting to gimmicks or inconsistent narratives, instead she is focusing on dialogue and structure.

If you are anywhere near familiar with the original novel then the character of Beth March is a tough and emotional character. I obviously won't spoil it here but the way they adapt this character is probably the reason I cried as much as I did and I am not ashamed to say that. Eliza Scanlan brings a brilliant performance as Beth, as she has to play a much quieter and reserved character in comparison yet still sticks with the audience. My only real gripe with the film is Emma Watson as Meg March, her character is the least interesting out of the four and Watson pails in comparison to the other performers, she just doesn't feel as layered and convincing as the others. Of course, this film is jam-packed with an impressive supporting cast, Laura Dern is a complete highlight as Marmee, her compassion and love are gorgeous to see as she pulls off a compelling portrayal of all the complexities in a mother. Timothee Chalament as Laurie is another surprisingly gorgeous performance, Chalament has really proved himself as an actor recently and here he manages to steal many scenes. He is hilarious, sympathetic and a complicated endearing portrayal of an iconic role. It's nice to see much smaller roles such as Meryl Streep, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts and James Norton working as well as they do, Gerwig can clearly direct an ensemble cast really well.

With it being a period piece it is obviously going to be a visual treat, the costume design, and production design is a dream in films like this. 'Little Women' is no exception with a wonderful design team bringing the film to a visually stuinning milestone. The subtle differences in how characterisation matters to the costume design are wonderful, there are always reasons behind every character's current look. In a story about women finding their role in society, it is so intersting to see how the different sisters respond to their society in their own costumes, marking the differences between what the sisters are wearing as they become more independent is a lovely touch. The film is shot beautifully like 'Ladybird' Gerwig isn't striving to re-write the book on cinematography, but she still knows how to compose and edit together shots oto create outstanding visual storytelling. There are several scenes where the visuals are carrying the moment, the dialougue is incredible but sometimes those moments of silence matched with beautiful cinematography make the moment hit twice as hard.

Greta Gerwig is quickly becoming one of my favorite auteur directors working today. This film is a miracle in its success, It is the cinematic equivalent of a warm hug and proves that cinema doesn't need to be cynnical and aggresive to work, maybe the Academy still think that, but Gerwig does not. It will make you laugh and cry and shout and smile and cheer and weep but above all, it will make you appreciate what Gerwig is telling you. I can only imagine the cultural importance of this film as an outsider to what the film is portraying, young girls seeing this will be more than inspired and I think that is really important. It is a film about how messy human beings are and how our connections to each other, no matter who we become, matter the most and that is something I didn't expect to take away from 'Little Women'.

Thank you for reading!