Overall: 59/70
(warning: spoilers for the film below)
(I will preface this review by admitting that, probably to the disappointment of my mother, I have never actually read the original Little Women novel by Louisa May Alcott, of which this film is an adaptation. I am therefore judging this as a standalone film. I am immensely ashamed, and will, of course, read the book. Maybe. Potentially. If I find time.)
Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women is a beautiful film that follows the journey of four sisters from childhood to adulthood. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen and Timothee Chalamet, this was a movie that, on a rewatch, cemented itself as a masterpiece. I remember watching it years ago, and, whilst I did enjoy it, the effect it had on me was nothing compared to when I saw it again a few weeks ago. The older I have gotten, the more it seems to mean to me.
The most notable element of this film to me was how a great deal of focus is placed on the warmth of childhood, and the cold reality of the rest of your life. This contrast, and this potential for everything to fade, is cleverly placed at the heart of Greta Gerwig’s adaption.
By using colour to her advantage, Gerwig is able to create a distinct division between the past and the present. This is important for the films narrative, which weaves together numerous moments from different stages of their life to generate a full picture. To follow this shifting timeline, the audience need to be able to easily identify where in time they are. And Gerwig does just this through her use of warm, autumnal tones for the past, and cold, grey tones for the present. The contrast is striking, and allows the audience to navigate themselves throughout the film. It also allows the cinematography itself to emphasis the ideas of childish wonder, and adult disdain. As the sister’s lives begin to change from their cosy, playful home life, their emotions, and the colour palette, shift as well. Gerwig captures the magic of youth, and the way it is gently stripped away.
Holding this film together is the comradery of the March sisters. Their interactions are what keep the audience watching, maybe seeing their own family dynamic amongst their fun. There is a bond between siblings that cannot be explained nor broken, and this is a film that honours and cherishes that idea. ‘we will be interesting forever’; the dream we all can dream. The sisters each embody their characters, not only as individuals, but as a unit. It is this group that helps generate the films sense of warmth.
Chalamet’s Laurie is also well performed; his yearning for love, his childish behaviour with an adult heartache at its core. The banter between him and Jo is very watchable, and his later dynamic with an adult Amy brings just as much connection. There was potential for this marriage to feel forced, when competing against his bond with Jo. However, as his closeness with Amy grows, it becomes a romance that audiences can support given their openness with each other; I think the connection between Chalamet and Pugh is what helps to develop this union between them.
And all this is before we even get to one of the most well-delt with subjects of this movie; the position of women. The outrage of Jo that she is constantly expected to marry, that it is the only natural path, is a fury that any women watching will feel. Her realisation that all women are seen to be good for is love has to be one of the films biggest heartaches. The deep, deep sadness that this was how centuries of women had to live – and the niggling feeling that not as much has changed as we would hope – cannot be shaken, even after the films conclusion. The clever balance of following the original ending of Jo indeed marrying, yet maintaining a sense of the fact she was never designed to, was a beautiful nod towards Louisa May Alcott. Jo is forced to make her own book end with romance; so was Alcott, and that fury of being forced to do so is injected into Gerwig’s ambiguous ending.
I think the part that felt the most powerful to me was Amy’s emotional outburst at Laurie in Paris. She says the things that have been whispered across the film, and her sudden departure from the young girl childishly wanting to marry rich, to a women accepting she has no other choice, is devastating to see. And she is correct, of course. She explains she only needs men because of the inability for her as a women to fund her own life, concluding that even children born of her body ‘would be his property’. Her bluntness to say what others have skirted around, alongside her sudden self-awareness, is sobering. Pair this with Laurie’s contrastingly care-free life, and limited knowledge of her true situation, and the picture of a women’s inferiority is painted. Jo’s consistent reluctance to marry becomes even more understandable, had it not been before; she wants to be free from these traps that hold down every promising woman.
As the film draws to its end, the scene of Jo holding her book to her chest, watching the rest become a reality, led me to find myself crying yet again. The expressions flitting across her face – pride, joy, uncertainty, fear – present a perfect depiction of an artist who has finally found an audience. Who has finally found somebody to explore the world in their head.
Women growing from childhood to adulthood will forever be a beautiful and terrifying thing to witness.
Criteria
Narrative – 9/10
Cinematography – 8/10
Design/Aesthetic – 9/10
Sound/Music – 7/10
Emotional Response – 9/10
Enjoyability – 9/10
Bonus points (criteria that only applies to some films depending)
Nostalgia – 3/5 – this film didn’t make me nostalgic for the film itself, as I haven’t read the book or seen previous adaptions. However, it did make me nostalgic for my own life; for my sister, for my family, and for my childhood.
Made Me Cry – +3 – I cried quite a few times. I started to well up before anything too sad had even happened, simply because I knew what was coming.
Made Me Laugh – +2 – childhood games of make-believe will never not be fun.
Overall: 59/70
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