'Little Women' film review: Gerwig's update is an exquisite jewel of 2019 cinema
Writer-director Greta Gerwig has breathed new, revitalizing life into the 150-year-old classic family drama "Little Women" (opening in theaters nationwide Dec. 25), making this timeless story feel absolutely current and lively. A wonderful ensemble, elegant score and masterful editing make it impossible not to adore this latest adaptation.
In short: The four March sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War. Stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh and Laura Dern with Meryl Streep.
Simply put, "Little Women" is lovely and romantic epic through and through. It harkens back to the day of period film elegance that rarely gets produced these days. But the beauty of this work goes beyond its impeccable costumes and superb production design - this update is a perfectly captivating story of unconditional familial love (ups and downs and all), underscored with its passionate celebration of individuality and personal growth.
Louisa May Alcott's novel and previous film adaptations were straightforward narratives, telling the nearly decade-long story of the March sisters in a chronological structure. Gerwig's script makes a bold strategy of telling the story in a decisively non-chronological structure, effectively starting in the middle of the story (with Jo already working as a writer in New York City). From here, the film tracks Jo's return home to care for her sick sister, while intermittently flashing back to the March sisters growing up together as young women. This audacious structure imbues "Little Women" with an energized pacing, and allowing Gerwig’s version to show off the story’s precise and elegant symmetry.
For a novel set in the late 1800s, the story’s fundamental themes are as relevant for 2019 as they were more than a century ago. The script is purely empathetic in its observations where society has relegated women. Anyone unfamiliar with either the novel or any previous adaptation might even assume this film was written in the modern era and simply set long ago - because the sentiments about a woman's position and duties ring true today.
Gerwig has assembled one of the very best ensemble casts of 2019, boasting several of the best performances of the year. Saoirse Ronan positively embodies the intrepid, high-spirited Jo, whose vitality and fierce independence absolutely commands the film. Unlike previous versions that cast younger actors to play the youthful versions of the March sisters, this version uses the same cast to play the young and current roles. And Pugh comes close to stealing the film with her bratty version of young Amy and the more assured older Amy.
In a cinematic landscape filled with heady social dramas, bleak character studies and effects-laden superhero epics, "Little Women" beautifully proves why dynamic characters composed in intimate, personally grounded stories resonate so deeply with audiences across generations.
Final verdict: Gerwig took a beloved story, injected some modern energy into it, populated it with some of today's best actors - and created one of the very best films of 2019.
Score: 5/5
"Little Women" opens in theaters nationwide Christmas Day. This drama has a running time of 134 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements and brief smoking.
