Little Women
Year: 2019
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen & Emma Watson
Runtime: 135 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 07/09/23
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen & Emma Watson
Runtime: 135 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 07/09/23
I really loved Barbie and I’d always heard great things about Greta Gerwig as a director so I was eager to check out her other films in the aftermath of her radical take on the worlds most popular doll. Little Women seemed like a safe choice then. Though I had little knowledge of the source material, I thought that a new-age feminist take on a classic female centric story would be right up my street, particularly when you consider that Florence Pugh is currently one of my favourite actresses, and both Saoirse Ronan & Emma Watson are also actresses I rate very highly. Unfortunately, Little Women didn’t strike the same chord with me that it seemed to with literally everyone else.
Set in the mid 1800’s, Little Women charts the lives of the March sisters, Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Amy (Florence Pugh), and Beth (Eliza Scanlen).
Jo is an aspiring writer and has attracted the attention of local bachelor Laurie (Timothee Chalamet) though is blind to his romantic notions. This causes a rift with Amy, who has feelings for Laurie, though is unrequited in her love.
Meanwhile Meg begins a relationship with Laurie’s tutor, John (James Norton), and Beth develops a close friendship with Laurie’s father (Chris Cooper).
As the years go by, Jo realised that the greatest story she could ever tell is that of her and her sisters, all of whom suffer through the pains of womanhood and the expectations of men.
Set in the mid 1800’s, Little Women charts the lives of the March sisters, Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Amy (Florence Pugh), and Beth (Eliza Scanlen).
Jo is an aspiring writer and has attracted the attention of local bachelor Laurie (Timothee Chalamet) though is blind to his romantic notions. This causes a rift with Amy, who has feelings for Laurie, though is unrequited in her love.
Meanwhile Meg begins a relationship with Laurie’s tutor, John (James Norton), and Beth develops a close friendship with Laurie’s father (Chris Cooper).
As the years go by, Jo realised that the greatest story she could ever tell is that of her and her sisters, all of whom suffer through the pains of womanhood and the expectations of men.
I think part of my disappointment with the film stems from it not being the kind of story I was expecting at all. I knew nothing about Little Women and so when everyone had an American accent (sort of) I was thrown off. I also expected this to be a story that was in defiance of the social norms of the time surrounding women and marriage, but it isn’t really any different from any other period drama in that sense because the whole plot hinges on which sister will marry Laurie. Without spoiling too much it does subvert expectations there slightly in relation to how that storyline ends, but it’s hardly enough to call this a story of the triumph of feminism as I had been led to believe.
I also struggled with the non-linear presentation of the narrative. The story jumps around in time a whole lot, and the cues to differentiate the time periods are subtle and often I didn’t notice them until too late which made piecing the story together more difficult than I would have liked. It’s small things like different hairstyles and a slight orange tint to the image during the ‘past’ timeline. Now that I know how to spot them I’d probably fare a bit better, but it took someone else explaining it to me to even notice that those changes had even happened. The non-linear did have a few small benefits, such as the juxtaposition between a moment of overwhelming joy, immediately followed by a moment of crushing sadness. The scenes are constructed very similarly, using a lot of the same shots, and this only pays off as well as it does because of that non-linear structure…however on the whole it’s not something I am a big fan of for this film.
I found almost all of the characters completely insufferable too. Of the three main women, Beth is the only one that didn’t get on my nerves. Meg is cold hearted and generally ungrateful; Jo is a narcissist, and can’t see beyond her own wants and desires; and Amy is just spiteful.
Thankfully all of the lead actresses are fantastic in their roles, so even though the characters are unlike me you are just completely gripped by the sheer power of their performance. I’m splitting hairs between Ronan and Pugh as to who I felt was strongest overall, but all four sisters are spectacular.
The production design is as you would expect from any big budget period drama, nice costumes and gorgeous sets. But the cinematography from Yorick Le Saux leaves a little to be desired. It’s perfectly functional, and thanks to the great locations the scene never fails to look good, but if anything is just perfunctory and conservative. Nothing gives it personality of its own…it’s just any old period drama.
I wasn’t sold on Little Women and that’s a shame, and that may be entirely my expectations to blame. Not much of the film really clicked with me, and had it not need for the fantastic performances I don’t think I would have had anything particularly positive to say.
But this should be taken with a pinch of salt because I’m not really one for period dramas anyway. If you love a period drama then I’m sure that Little Women will delight, provided you can get over the non-linear narrative, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I also struggled with the non-linear presentation of the narrative. The story jumps around in time a whole lot, and the cues to differentiate the time periods are subtle and often I didn’t notice them until too late which made piecing the story together more difficult than I would have liked. It’s small things like different hairstyles and a slight orange tint to the image during the ‘past’ timeline. Now that I know how to spot them I’d probably fare a bit better, but it took someone else explaining it to me to even notice that those changes had even happened. The non-linear did have a few small benefits, such as the juxtaposition between a moment of overwhelming joy, immediately followed by a moment of crushing sadness. The scenes are constructed very similarly, using a lot of the same shots, and this only pays off as well as it does because of that non-linear structure…however on the whole it’s not something I am a big fan of for this film.
I found almost all of the characters completely insufferable too. Of the three main women, Beth is the only one that didn’t get on my nerves. Meg is cold hearted and generally ungrateful; Jo is a narcissist, and can’t see beyond her own wants and desires; and Amy is just spiteful.
Thankfully all of the lead actresses are fantastic in their roles, so even though the characters are unlike me you are just completely gripped by the sheer power of their performance. I’m splitting hairs between Ronan and Pugh as to who I felt was strongest overall, but all four sisters are spectacular.
The production design is as you would expect from any big budget period drama, nice costumes and gorgeous sets. But the cinematography from Yorick Le Saux leaves a little to be desired. It’s perfectly functional, and thanks to the great locations the scene never fails to look good, but if anything is just perfunctory and conservative. Nothing gives it personality of its own…it’s just any old period drama.
I wasn’t sold on Little Women and that’s a shame, and that may be entirely my expectations to blame. Not much of the film really clicked with me, and had it not need for the fantastic performances I don’t think I would have had anything particularly positive to say.
But this should be taken with a pinch of salt because I’m not really one for period dramas anyway. If you love a period drama then I’m sure that Little Women will delight, provided you can get over the non-linear narrative, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.