2019’s version of “Little Women” proudly stands as a sincere story about love, life, and the power of artistic passion
Written By: Victor DeBonis
Before I started writing movie reviews, there was a time when the one activity that I wanted to do the most was write stories of my own. I wanted to tell stories as far back as my imagination was first ignited by the cinematic magic of Disney fairy-tales, such as “Beauty and the Beast,” and the literary works of Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss. This was a passion that plenty of friends and family of mine encouraged, yet, as life would have it, I went through periods of doubt, responsibility, and moments of intense self-doubt that caused me to go back and forth between trying to write when I could and setting it aside. Yet, the love and fascination with storytelling, how it can affect others, and how much of what came from my personal life and what influenced or moved me, never faded away.
If there was ever a movie from 2019 that perfectly understands the power of telling stories and what comes from one determined soul’s own life story and those around her, it is this year’s version of “Little Women” as directed by Greta Gerwig. Based on the classic book of the same name by Louisa May Alcott, this tale has been re-told several times, including a 1994 film version with Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, and Claire Danes, but this film still stands alone marvelously and rings with a proud voice and life of its own.
It excels as a story echoing the relatable conflict of how writers and other types of artists with dreams often struggle to navigate through the unpredictable curves of life while also maintaining their spirit and love for what they do. It performs superbly as a coming-of-age story dealing with four charming, fully-realized women growing up. And, it works wonders as an example of real, soulful film-making. The acting, the direction, and the screenplay, along with every other element of the film, blends together wonderfully with each other, and all of it comes from an artist who adores movies and knows how powerful they can be. It helps brings an inspired yet wholly unique vision about four great female characters and their discoveries about life, love, and keeping your spirit and voice alive through it all.
Gerwig directs this movie like a champ. She re-tells this story with respect for the source material while simultaneously bringing a good amount of life and a bit of a modern touch to this re-telling, too. When referring to the term, “modern,” I mean to say that some characters perform expressions, such as rolling their eyes in a certain way, that would reflect the type of gesture that a few more people would do nowadays. When these characters communicate with each other, they don’t speak with an archaic language or style. Their way of talking with each other, while not possessing any slang or such, would work perfectly well in this setting or our present-day environment. Choices, such as these, give this film more of an established identity of its own.
Additionally, Gerwig’s voice leads to a pleasant atmosphere and energy that balances perfectly with the sadder, more poignant moments that occur as the film advances. In one scene, where the four girls and the mother are trying to prepare for an event, the camera backs away but then pans around to show them all giving each other advice but still working on getting ready. All of this is shot with skill and great lighting to echo the love and occasional stress coming from this tightly-knit family of girls who truly care about each other. Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux also deserves a bunch of credit in helping to create some massive and gorgeous imagery. Notice how huge and elegant the mansion looks where Beth skillfully plays the piano to the pleasure of a moved listener. Look at how pretty and quiet the icy pond in the forest is when two characters head out to skate. It feels as though you’ve stepped into a charming tale of nineteenth-century life with so much rich imagery to appreciate, and it’s absolutely beautiful to witness.
The characters from the story itself guide us carefully through their paths, and each of them, namely Jo (played by Saoirse Ronan), Meg (performed by Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh), and Beth (Eliza Scanlen), brings a freshly distinct soul and humanity to their role. Meg, for instance, tends to be the “mother figure” of the four girls, effective at sharing wisdom and sincere love for those that she cares about despite undergoing the occasional struggle of trying too hard to please others at times. Amy is a gifted artist who knows how to use her hands and possesses solid wit. However, early in the film, she has a tendency for acting on impulses of the moment instead of taking greater time to think through what the better action to do might be. Each one of these women is identifiable, brilliant in their own ways, and flawed in a way that never distracted me from the experience and made me more interested in what their personal journey was like and what they led to. Through it all, each one of them is heavily passionate about what they believe in or what their hope is, and I wanted to see each one of them try to realize their dreams to the best that they could.
This movie is told in a non-linear fashion, which does jump around quite a bit. In a lesser movie, this approach could falter badly in a misguided fashion, yet the movie cleverly works in helping you appreciate how the events of the present further echo the importance of what inspired them before and how all of it comes together wonderfully. After a while, you can follow along fine with what happened before, and, for a narrative that covers so much time and runs at about 135 minutes, I wanted to follow along and stay with these funny, sympathetic people a little bit longer. I never felt that this film overstayed its welcome. I loved seeing how passionate these women are about what they’re seeking and what they love doing. It’s a treat to listen to them trading a personal philosophy or belief with each other. Throughout the film, the women will discuss feelings on what is the right thing to consider when seeking “the one” and what behavior society expects women, such as them, to perform, along with other believable issues that revolve around womanhood. They speak with an intelligence and passion that rings true from their core, which is beautiful to see.
Their interactions with each other feel real, genuine, and loving. Speaking with a surprisingly quick yet steady enough pace, these four women show a bond that can be felt when they’re joyously walking arm-in-arm and reminding each other of what they need to take care of for the day. Their love can also be felt when one is resting her head in the laps of another sister during an especially low moment. A true chemistry and fierce love blooms from these women when they’re around each other, and there’s a sense from how they reach out to each other, argue, or try to guide each other in tough times that come from the whirlwind of different emotions that accompany any great coming-of-age story. Much of this comes from not only the wonderful performances of these actresses but Gerwig’s guidance and direction. In her previous directorial effort, “Lady Bird,” Gerwig has proven herself as more than capable of illustrating the realism and connection between familial relationships, particularly those between females in the family. That great talent is further shared and extended here with these sisters and their relationship with their loving mom, played excellently with equal amounts of generosity and gentle wisdom by Laura Dern.
The male supporting actors, including Chris Cooper and Timothee Chalamet, do well, offering occasional guidance in ways that show moments of quiet firmness balanced with steady passion and humor. Meryl Streep also plays a minor role here, serving as a voice that tries to point Amy towards following a more traditional path of womanhood rather than what she’s personally trying to seek. Streep does this partly from her own experience under more old-fashioned values and her hope to see her young women grow up as less lost and with what she sees as the most proper and fulfilling places in life.
Yet, the emotions and personal struggles of these fascinating, likable women remains the main focus and, in large part, what makes this movie an absolute treat to watch. I get so emotionally wrapped up seeing these four young ladies put on a play for an audience of younger girls to appreciate. I feel torn seeing these girls get into a heated argument over how one of them acts rather rashly towards the other after a moment of feeling left out. I happily see Watson start interacting with a nice enough boy, and I genuinely wanted someone as considerate, smart, and pretty-looking as her to find the perfect match for her. There’s a magic from simply watching these four creative women put on a play for younger girls to enjoy and that seems to flow through much of the rest of the movie with its deep-to-its-core charm and sincerity. Merely seeing Dern generously introduce herself to one of the boys and encourage him to call her, “Mom,” stood as a hint for how emotionally honest the remainder of the movie would be, and it didn’t disappoint.
As mentioned, the main actresses work wonders with their roles. In one of my favorite performances of her so far, Watson carries a loving and truthful nature with her that matches well with her firm leadership and hope for finding real love as opposed to simply marrying for financial purposes. Scanlen maintains a quiet intelligence and passion that often isn’t revealed through more extroverted actions but through simple conversations with her sisters about her thoughts regarding life and her musical talents. Pugh fights hard for my favorite character in the movie with a clear conviction in her voice and gaze that only someone with that amount of devotion to her passion and personal beliefs could possess. She has a great moment where she talks about her artistic hopes clashing with a society that puts her and other women in a highly restraining position. So much love for what she doesm understandable frustration, and truth comes from her way of expressing herself here that I can’t help but love her for saying what she does.
Without a doubt, though, the character that absolutely stole my heart and made me sit up further with attention and joy was Ronan’s character, Jo. I already sensed that there was an incredible talent in Ronan from “Lady Bird,” and she somehow manages to surpass even that with how magnetic and captivating she is here. She’s so free-spirited and open and hopeful of following a path on her own terms instead of what everyone else would prefer for her to follow. Yet, it never feels forced or that she’s trying to prove how much better she is than everyone else is as some of these types of characters can be written. All of it feels natural coming from her.
When she laughs or cries or ponders silently over something, I sense a resilience and thoughtfulness that made me appreciate her a little more and, in my mind, cheer for her whenever she was on screen. Through much of the movie, she finds herself in a relatable situation of carrying a strong connection with her own family and wanting to find the best path for her, yet she doesn’t want to give up her deep love for writing or completely sacrifice what she thinks is best for her as she gets older. There’s a real sense of her trying to figure out what is good for herself and her work, and it’s a fascinating struggle of determining how to best seek love, happiness, and fulfillment in the face of compromise that both the writing and Ronan’s performance depicts beautifully.
If I can get personal for a moment, the writer in me, especially, connected with her devotion to her writing and her longing to get her stories published and shared with others the way that she wanted to see them to be. As someone who has experienced the joyous and hard moments of writing (and is still learning the craft in a number of aspects), I related every bit with how much she warmed with pride when people in her life told her what her work meant to them and how hurt she felt when her work was criticized or rejected. There’s a 1995 movie that I watched a long time ago and loved titled “A Little Princess,” containing a scene where the main character ponders over the purpose of her stories that she creates and shares with those around her. One of her best friends tells her that her stories always meant something to her, and that scene always found a special place in my heart and soul. Jo’s journey reminded me a little bit of that scene and the doubt that can often follow when one tries to share stories or work on improving the craft.
There’s always going to be that long battle between wanting to tell stories in an exact way and trying to make a certain compromise when trying to get one’s work published or sent out for others to see. There’s often a confidence to what one thinks is brilliant work and is treasured by others, yet there’s still that doubt from how some other people don’t warm up to the same tales and can be rather critical of them.
I’ve felt more doubt than I care to admit about my own stories and creative work in the past, and there have been points when I set it aside or even questioned whether I should keep doing it, yet, in the end, I never truly gave it up. And, my passion for writing and wanting to tell stories or communicate how powerful and meaningful they can be has never been lost just as it is never truly lost with Jo and her journey. Every moment of her dedication to remaining a storyteller and how much her stories meant to her, while trying to navigate through the rocky and complicated waters of life, resonated with me to my core and helped me relate to her more than any other character on the big screen this year. Yet, it can also stand as a metaphor for any filmmaker trying to tell tales in her own way with relatable ideas and experiences in the face of a struggle with what is considered by executives or such to be the best way to get that story across an audience. And, seeing how Jo tried to get her voice out there, while still maintaining her vision and what meant much to her, fueled me with a satisfaction and investment on a high level that not too many movies accomplished with me earlier in the year.
“Little Women” is a marvelous movie. The passion from the characters and the writing and every other element to bringing this re-imagining of this story to life was wonderful to experience. Much commitment was given to seeing these characters search for something deeper and more beautiful further down the road in their own lives, and that dedication and increasing wisdom that comes with such a journey was felt in every frame. I don’t often join applauses in movies when they start to happen as the end credits appear, but I had to join in with the clapping that followed the end of this movie. This film earned it with its honest heart and soul that swept me away from the opening scene to the final frame of reflection that made me think a little more as I left the theater.
This movie may have been re-telling a story that’s been done a number of times. However, Gerwig manages to give a timeless feel to this tale that makes it feel unique and resonate. It stands as an ode to people trying to find their way in a life and society that puts so many expectations on them. Yet, 2019’s version of “Little Women” also stands proudly as a tale made for the storytellers who want others to see their words and hard work and continue doing what they love. And, it also stands strong as a film made for any dreamer with a hopeful spirit and thoughtful mind who wants their work to make an impact and yearns to find their purpose and sense of meaning in their journey ahead.
“Little Women” is a magical, uplifting, freely-spirited film that should not be missed, and it is one of the best movies that I have seen all year.
Grade: A+