Little Women - Movie Review

Is there anything new that can and should be said in another movie adaptation of the beloved classic, Little Women? Most people weren’t sure, especially since the 1994 version starring Winona Ryder seemed to offer the last word for so long.

And yet, Greta Gerwig decided to give it a go, and she proved that there were, indeed, new and important things to say regarding Louisa May Alcott’s foundational work.

The latest adaptation of the novel stars Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chamalet, and Laura Dern, amongst many other major names. Gerwig adapted the script herself, drawing from different sources, including snippets from the lesser-known follow-up Little Men, and events from Louisa May Alcott’s real life, blurring the lines between adaptation and biography.

It is a way of making clear the long-held suspicions by fans of the books and historians that Jo March is essentially a version of Alcott herself. Another tack the film takes is the continuous shift in timeline, jumping from past and present consistently throughout the film, while also keeping the dialogue running at a clipped pace as though it were a piece of theatre.

Both innovations are interesting, but they can also be rather distracting and perhaps not very “welcoming” for an audience not as familiar with the books as the many die-hard fans out there.