Respond to these rapid questions in our Little Women Quiz and we will tell you which Little Women character you are. Play it now.
“Courage doesn’t bloom overnight,” Greta Gerwig said in an interview after the rousing world premiere of “Lady Bird” at the 2017 Telluride Film Festival. “That first mountain is probably the toughest,” she noted, underscoring her continuous determination to pursue her calling as a director after finally putting herself out there with a single effort. How right she was about that calling, and how gratifying it is to witness her bravery take on even more confident form in a large-scale Hollywood production! “Little Women” reinforces Gerwig’s one-of-a-kind voice on the text and behind the camera, opening up Louisa May Alcott’s famous 19th-century novel in a delightful and inventive screen version that seems ageless and immensely of today.
Given the text’s numerous adaptations as TV series, stage productions, and feature films—including a pair of silent-era editions, George Cukor’s magnificent Katherine Hepburn-starrer from 1933 and Gillian Armstrong’s excellent 1994 adaptation (Gerwig’s film is easily on par with those latter two gold-standard versions), the noticeable freshness of this new “Little Women” is no small feat. But, again, it shouldn’t come as a shock, should it? Gerwig, in fact, has always had a particular auteurial stamp in her artistic expression, which she demonstrated in mumblecores and Noah Baumbach collaborations alike, and which predates even her semi-autobiographical directorial debut.
The filmmaker liberally pours her distinctive buoyancy into a story she clearly knows inside and out here (and there will be spoilers ahead), infusing the narrative with the lived-in intimacy of “Lady Bird” and the womanly resilience and friendship that characterizes most of “Frances Ha.” Furthermore, she skillfully converts her control over the book into gold, orchestrating the story’s portions melodically and non-linearly. In doing so, Gerwig makes a bold claim: inside the dialogue she fosters between the film’s two timeframes, she unearths a reflecting feeling of recollection and nostalgia. Her well-paced flashback structure, studded with emotional peaks and soothing cadences, is at once a startling riddle and a source of amazement, but never disrespectful to Alcott’s intentions. It’s both a clever way-in for first-timers and a clever twist for “Little Women” fans. Also, you must try to play this Little Women Quiz.
Little Women Quiz
And the March Sisters’ essence, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth, is still intact, with the siblings’ hearts and souls kept in the appropriate place. The brilliant Saoirse Ronan of “Brooklyn” (among the best actors of her generation) reunites with Gerwig after their Sacramento-set trip to play the rebellious and ever-energetic Jo, a sort of Alcott surrogate. Jo is already seven years into the future when we meet her, living in a boarding house in New York, pursuing her aspirations of becoming a novelist, rather than in “New Hampshire where writers live in the woods.” Despite having already received a “no” (or, a “yes” with conditions) from an editor (Tracy Letts, as fatherly and charmingly sarcastic as he was in “Lady Bird”) who instructs her to give her female characters the traditional happy ending of marriage, she has a vibrant spring in her step in these early moments. Professor Bhaer (Louis Garrel), Jo’s intellectual equal with whom she is destined to fall in love later, has also met her harshest (but most honest) critic. Also, you will find out which character are you in this Little Women Quiz.
The future also shows us Amy (Florence Pugh, Ronan’s match as a force of nature) and her chance encounter with Laurie, the Marches’ beloved ex-neighbor, played by a feather-light, floppy-haired Timothée Chalamet, one of everyone’s favorite young crushes with his soulful depth and sharp-edged cheekbones. Emma Watson’s Meg (the headstrong, clothes-conscious sister who puts her monetary temptations aside and marries for love regardless of financial considerations), Eliza Scanlen’s shy but talented pianist Beth, Laura Dern’s loving, sacrificing Marmee, and Meryl Streep’s feisty and practical-minded Aunt March round out the cast. Gerwig carefully feeds the audience the clan’s Massachusetts history in increments, using well-considered shuffles between timeframes edited by Nick Houy. Within Gerwig’s experimental yet disciplined assembly, a turned down marriage proposal, a secret sexual affection, class differences, a sisterly rivalry, and a devastating sickness lurking in the corner all get their due. Knowing what the girls will become shapes our view of their adolescent years, and watching their young challenges heightens the immediacy with which we engage with the ladies’ future selves.
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With this configuration, Gerwig’s command on “Little Women” doesn’t stop at her ease. Equally significant is how she grasps and conveys the story’s pleasant nature, which is reminiscent of the comforting warmth of a blanket on a bleak winter day. When the Marches congregate around the fireplace or gather around a dining table for their Christmas feast, Gerwig’s “Little Women” is as comfortable as its predecessors. And it’s a thrill to see this friendly demeanor (always supported by pitch-perfect clothes, Yorick LeSaux’s tight cinematography, and a gorgeously textured production design) eventually transform into something achingly romantic. Yes, on one side, Gerwig’s film gently criticizes the traditional view of marriage as an institution in which men are expected to financially support women. On the other hand, it also praises love and marriage as viable options alongside job goals—Meg, after all, chooses to start a family and defends her decision to Jo in a subtly feminist moment.
The crown jewel of “Little Women” is Gerwig’s basic updating of Jo in a way that Alcott would have approved of, if not admired. Our Jo matures into not only the love-struck, vivacious young woman of a classic romantic comedy, but also a fearless author with ink-stained hands, unafraid to negotiate her worth and proud to witness the birth of her hardback, gold-lettered baby. With its optimism and genuine respect for Alcott, who had to sacrifice her ideal “Little Women” finale, it’s a magnificent finish that will bring tears to your eyes. Gerwig captures her ahead-of-her-time attitude and makes it contagious for a new generation with their own goals, whatever they may be.
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