Stars: 5/5
Heartbreaking, witty, impactful, enchanting, empowering. Those are the words I would use to describe Amy Pascal’s and Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women.”
In Massachusetts during the Civil War, four young sisters try to help their family survive while their father is off fighting in the war. The family has to go through many heartbreaks and hardships and overtime grow older and come together to face them.
Saoirse Ronan plays Jo March, a headstrong and independent writer who seeks to make her own way in the world. Emma Watson plays Meg March, a wishful actress who is loving and conservative. Florence Pugh plays Amy Curtis March, who is funny and rambunctious, while Beth March played by Eliza Scanlen is a quiet young musician.
Timothée Chalamet plays Laurie, the wealthy neighbor who lives next to the March family and is charming and troublesome. Meryl Streep plays Aunt March who is a wealthy widow in the family and Laura Dern plays Mary March the four girls’ mother. Each person was absolutely perfect for their role and really brought the characters to life. The film felt so real, and the cast did a wonderful job at hooking you into the story. Along with cast came amazing lines for them to recite.
This has to be one of my favorite scripts in a while, and it’s so honest and true to the story it’s showcasing, which is why it’s so special.
I also think having multiple timelines made watching the story more interesting and the audience more invested and eager. It made all the highs and lows of the story feel that much more significant and impactful.
Watching Beth fight through her illness was heartbreaking, and Ronan delivered some of the best scenes in the film while discussing love and independence.
The love triangle between Jo, Amy and Laurie always gets me. Seeing their friendships blossom into more and go through rejections and proposals all over again is extremely emotional.
I love Gerwig’s work on this film and how she was able to introduce this classic story to a younger audience so they too can appreciate its magic.
Women directors are constantly not getting the recognition they deserve, but Gerwig is proving that having powerful work can’t be ignored and deserves to be respected. From “Little Women” to her work on “Lady Bird,” with Ronan and Chalamet as well, she’s on a roll and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
There have been other great films directed by women this past year like Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart,” Tina Gordon Chism’s “Little,” Loren Scafaria’s “Hustlers,” and Stacie Passon’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” just to name a few.
Along with Gerwig and Pascal inspiring young girls to be in the film industry, Jo herself inspires me to continue to be strong-willed and passionate. She’s a writer with ambition and fearless, someone who I aspire to be like as an aspiring writer myself.
Other than just being a great story, “Little Women” is a movie that is the perfect narrative right now to remind women just how strong we are.
This movie has been remade a lot, but this remake is definitely worth seeing. From the cast and the script, to the beautiful sets and costumes, everything about this film makes it a must see.