Film Review: Little Women
Greta Gerwig has delivered a beautifully-wrapped holiday gift of a classic much-loved novel in yet another filmed version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. She has assembled a sterling ensemble cast to portray the women in the March family, a lively and loving group of four sisters and their mother coping in genteel poverty as they await the return of the their father from the civil war. She manages to capture the individuality of the women, all of them creative in different ways - exuberant and joyful in their embrace of life. Their home is filled with laughter and artistic collaborations. Jo (Soairse Ronan) writes plays and short stories.in The girls dress up and act out all of the various parts. Meg (Emma Watson) is the striving thespian, Amy (Florence Pugh) paints sets and Beth Eliza Scanlen) plays the piano. They are overseen by their good natured housekeeper Hannah (Jayne Houdyshell). They are a constantly a source of amazement and delight to Marmee (Laura Dern), their anxious yet indefatigable mother, who works and tries to shelter them from their financial difficulties, even as she finds ways to help those way less fortunate who are suffering all around them. She is a compassionate and very caring person.
Photo by Wilson Webb - © © 2019 CTMG, Inc.
Photo by Wilson Webb - © © 2019 CTMG, Inc.
As a consequence there is not much order in their lives and they are making it up as they go along in a society of their own sisterhood. Gerwig manages to capture the infectious gaiety, inevitable bickering, making-up, and most obviously deeply-felt affection they have for each other. When the sisters are together, their merriment often overlaps in ways that make them resemble a high-spirited litter of puppies. They are a source of curiosity and fascination to their wealthy neighbors, Mr. Laurence (Chris Cooper), a lonely widow, and his nephew Teddy (Timothée Chalamet), a rather ne’er do well, indolent fellow with no direction. Mr. Laurence is wary of these untamed girls and initially looks down on them. Laurie, as the girls call Teddy, is wistful, and like the puppy that he is, he wants to play and spends hours observing them from a distance until he contrives to meet them. Almost immediately he is welcomed as an honorary brother and spends many hours hanging out with Jo, by whom he is captivated.
Photo by Wilson Webb - © © 2019 CTMG, Inc.
Gerwig has scrambled the timeline of the story in a way that may be confusing to anyone who is not familiar with the book. (Is there anyone?). It begins with Jo meeting with her would-be publisher, Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts), in New York City. She has been living in a boarding house and has made friends with another resident Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel), a handsome teacher, with whom she shares her writing aspirations. Dashwood is a tough negotiator and does not give Jo much respect, as this is not a time when women are being taken seriously in publishing. However, in Jo, he has found his match. This is the framework in which Gerwig places the events that occur in the lives of the March family. The film shifts forward and backward repeatedly within the seven years before and we experience the blossoming of the girls into women, the choices they make, the sacrifices, the tragedies and the happiness. We also witness small shifts in attitudes toward women - away from the harsh realities for a woman without a fortune as laid out by the stern but extremely wealthy Aunt March (Meryl Streep).
© Wilson Webb/© 2019 CTMG, Inc.
According to Aunt March, and nearly everyone else, marriage is the only path to avoid poverty. Jo rejects this categorically and Jo is not one to go down without a fight. Aunt March is proven wrong by Jo’s subsequent enormous success as a published writer. And it is a treat to see Ronan play her with such subtle brilliance. Her face has the ability to register a world of emotion with the smallest flicker of expression. In fact, life seems to have worked out fairly well for the March sisters except for Beth, who has tragically, died. Otherwise, all’s well that ends well. And even Jo finds love.
Photo by Wilson Webb - © © 2019 CTMG, Inc.
Gorgeously filmed by Yorick Le Saux with a warm luxuriant palette which illuminates the flawlessly detailed interiors, period clothing and elaborate hairstyles. In a time of gaslight and candles the rich surfaces seem to glow as if painted in oil on canvas. The pacing is brisk and fully engaging, and greatly enhanced by the music of Alexandre Desplat. This is a treat.
