Little Women: A Lively & Lovely Adaptation
Following her phenomenal debut, Lady Bird, writer/director Greta Gerwig sets her sights on another coming-of-age tale. Classic and timeless, Little Women has long been a passion project for the breakthrough filmmaker, and she brings her effervescent charm, keen intellect, and personal artistry to table (along with a slew of world-class talent) to craft a sincere and heartfelt adaptation that feels fresh, nuanced, and surprisingly modern.
Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women each determined to live life on their own terms.
It seems as though nearly every generation has their own rendition of Little Women. Louisa May Alcott’s perennial 19th-century novel has been countlessly adapted for the stage, television, and film, and just when you think the over 150-year-old text had been thoroughly beaten to death, in steps Greta Gerwig to imbue Alcott’s source material with a vitality and freshness that’s somehow yet to be seen. In fact, Gerwig’s version is spirited in ways that the other adaptations aren’t. Alive and teeming with a palatable vibrancy, everything feels tangible and authentic (not somehow out of reach, like most period films).
The characters are fully rounded and the world is fully realized. Everything feels believably within reach, and the culminating effect is akin to a warm blanket; it wraps you up totally (regardless of if you’re a fan of the novel, or have no context to it whatsoever), creating a warmth that you’ll want to revisit time and time again. It’s sweet (without being too saccharine), charming, soulful, and honest, mixed with really funny bits and some sad bits, and filtered through a modern lens, which is all perfectly blended and chopped up by Gerwig. For the most part, Gerwig’s retelling stays very true to the book, sometimes pulling out specific lines and moments verbatim, but any liberties she takes helps to give the story a nuanced feel. Notably, the film’s structure, which bounces between the present and the past (seven years ago), is it’s most overtly unique aspect, and it creates a lot of contrast (between memory and the "now”) while also making its heavy moments hit that much harder.
The film is tautly constructed and serves as a immense showcase for Gerwig’s ability as a writer. She has a terrific way with words and an uncanny ability to draw the very best out of her phenomenal case, who ALL deliver. Although Saoirse Ronan serves as the main character here (since she’s ultimately crafting a novel about her life and her sisters — which is another unique Gerwigism that sets this adaptation apart), the story is really about the lives of the March sisters and their relationships, and Gerwig finds a way to give everyone a pretty equal amount of time, which allows the more peripheral players to factor into the narrative in big ways. Similar to Lady Bird, her writing finds a perfect harmony between humor and warmth, and it gives new depth and definition to the characters at every turn. She has a penchant for creating extremely lovable and relatable characters that audiences can easily latch onto, and her timely bend to the material further speaks to her ability to excavate elements out of this old text that speak very resonantly to the here and now.
Her choice to give the past and present different visual styles easily allows the viewer to stay on board with the non-linear format. She gives the past a warmth because it’s a point in the March’s life when they’re all together, and it also reinforces the nostalgic feeling one has when looking back on memories. It’s also emblematic for their dreams and aspirations, which are all bright and shining and just ahead of them in their youth. This is nicely contrasted with the present, which is more cold, distant, and austere, reinforcing that how their dreams and aspirations have more complicated, skewed, and difficult to obtain older years.
Regardless of where a scene falls in the story (past or present), Gerwig and cinematographer Yorick Le Saux give the images a authentic quality that favors natural lighting. There are times that the compositions are flat and painterly, which give off an air of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (although it’s never as lavish, intricate, or grandiose as Kubrick’s period masterpiece). It’s also a film that’s full of about every conceivable landscape and setting — there are country sides, cities, beaches, modest homes, poor shanties, extravagant mansions, and intricate ballrooms — which are all beautifully captured by Le Saux.
The film boasts one of the best ensemble casts of 2019, and it’s comprised of highly accomplished heavy hitters, both young (like Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Timothée Chalamet) and old (like Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, and Chris Cooper), who all deliver solid performances. The March women (with the exception of Streep’s Aunt March) are balls of adorable innocent light that illuminate the dull mundane quotidian, especially the lives of the men who surround them, and each actress makes this palpable in their performance. Their aura catches the eye of nearly all they pass, and it also enraptures the viewer and draws them in close. Florence Pugh’s Amy and Saoirse Ronan’s Jo stand out amongst the sisters thanks to their characters’ many layers, but Timothée Chalamet’s Laurie steals just about every scene he’s in. He gives Laurie an undeniable charm, and you can tell he’s having a lot of fun.
All in all, Gerwig’s Little Women is as much about the specific women in the story as it is women in general, the world around them, and their station in society’s world, which is something that needs to transcended and is worth fighting for. It’s much more than a “chick flick”; it’ll make you laugh; it’ll make you cry; it’ll warm your heart, and it will inspire. It’s one of the year’s best, and should be sought out by all. Even if you think it’s not for you, you might be surprised by the film’s ability to move you.
Recommendation: For fans of the source material or the uninitiated; this one’s got a little something for everyone.
Rating: 5 dances of joy outta 5.
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