“With a stellar cast and a smart, sensitive retelling of its classic source material, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women proves some stories truly are timeless.”— Rotten Tomatoes.
Going into this movie, I was unsure of how much I would like it. However, most of my friends highly recommended this movie to me and said that it was beautifully directed.
After seeing it, I agreed with my friends’ recommendations, and I felt very moved by the constant sisterhood I saw between the sisters.
I feel that this movie serves a special purpose to women everywhere since Gerwig highlights the bonds the sisters share. Most movies do not focus closely on sisterhood and today, the idea that women are sisters supporting each other speaks to the consistent move towards female empowerment.
Giselle Sethi ’22 said, “As a [young] woman it is empowering to watch a movie about not one but multiple female characters and their journeys. I also appreciate that the main focus was not on their romantic relationships, but rather the relationships between the sisters. Seeing this movie with my sister made us both appreciate our relationship and the bond we get to share together so much more.”
I also enjoyed how the movie went in-depth with each of the sisters and explored each of their unique skills and personalities. Like a normal family, the four sisters are all different and experience their own adventures in life.
“The four sisters are a pulsing, bubbling, fractious unit, and every character has a chance to show a side you don’t expect,” David Edelstein wrote for Vulture magazine.
The actresses themselves, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen, were astounding and brilliant. They portrayed the sisters beautifully and even though each character has their own different and unique personalities, together they form a tight-knit family.
An audience member cannot see the movie and not think that the character Laurie, played Timothée Chalamet, is not dreamy. Although his character inspires controversy due to the complex love triangle he is entangled in between Jo and Amy, he plays a significant part as the next-door rich playboy. I feel that almost every female audience member swooned over his fluffy hair and chiseled jawline.
“Chalamet’s at turns earnest and swaggering performance emphasizes Laurie’s irresistible appeal and genuine tenderness for Jo and her family while not sugarcoating the fact that he is not infrequently a blundering fool,” wrote Ivana Rihter for online magazine Bustle.
In comparison to the book, the movie did change the ending where Jo gets married instead of living as a single, independent woman. Even though some viewers were disappointed, the movie expresses a good message for women about reaching for and gaining independence for themselves. As one of the main characters, Jo’s role is a very important one because she sets the whole story and controls which way it goes.
“From what I understand, Jo never wanted to get married [in the novel] and although that was accurate at first, she did get married at the end. I think it was unnecessary especially since it would have fit her personality better had she not gotten married,” said Katharine Bales ’22.
Gerwig may have been following the initial plan for Jo’s character of Little Women author Louisa May Alcott, however.
In an interview with filmmaker Rian Johnson on The Director’s Cut podcast, Gerwig said, “One of the things that I discovered while I was researching Louisa May Alcott, and I tried to bring in a lot of this, is unlike Jo March who does get married and have children, Louisa May Alcott never got married and she never had children. But she was convinced that she needed to have Jo get married and have children in order to sell the book, but she never wanted that for her heroine.”
I think Gerwig’s change was a true fairy tale ending for Jo. Not only that, Gerwig succeeded in making the book come to life.
This movie in general contains many memorable moments and all the characters of this movie are beautifully developed, with each having a distinctive personality that every audience member can relate and laugh along with. Five out of five stars!
Image courtesy of Bustle
