- Read Cabell's review of Little Women.
Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig’s take, the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on her own terms -- is both timeless and timely.
Little Women is in theaters on December 25th, 2019.
Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author's alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig's take, the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women each determined to live life on her own terms -- is both timeless and timely. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.
Little Women is the second film directed by Greta Gerwig (director of “Lady Bird”) and it is heartbreaking, sweet and warm. But wow are the performances outstanding. Some of my biggest standouts were Sersha Ronan (previously seen in “Lady Bird” and “Brooklyn”) playing Jo with such an energy and emotion. Whenever she was on screen she captured all the attention. Florence Pugh (previously seen in “Midsommar” and “The Commuter) was also a stand out for me playing Amy who was always coming in conflict with Jo. But what made a lot of this movie for me was the overall dynamic of all the sisters together. Their chemistry was so good. There were some especially good scenes of the sisters acting out plays. Some highlights from the supporting cast that I had to mention include Emma Watson (previously seen in “Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “The Blind Ring”), Timothée Chalamet (previously seen in “Beautiful Boy” and “Lady Bird”), Laura Dern (previously seen in “Jurassic Park” and “Marriage Story”) and even Bob Odenkirk (previously seen in “Long Shot” and “Incredibles 2”).
Now this film has a great script with excellent dialog throughout. It specifically strives with is small, intimate moments. They came off so naturally. But where the film suffers is in the editing. The whole bouncing around aspect did not work for me at all and caused the story to be very foggy for me. It was very upsetting for me because I was constantly enjoying the performances, but was so confused as to what was going on in the story. It came off incredibly unclear.
Overall, I will say that this film has some of the most powerful performances in 2019. Unfortunately it is paired with some very strange editing, but I will recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of any of the cast members. Gerwig seriously just grabbed all the A24 kids and knocked it out of the park with their performances.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Cabell (Senior Contributor) is a filmmaker from Tampa, Florida. He will watch just about any film but when he's not reviewing the latest hits he spends time directing films of his own.Click Here to check out Cabell's Articles.