“Nancy Drew. Scarlett O'Hara. Scout Finch. Elizabeth Bennet. Lewis Carroll’s Alice. Each is unquestionably a charter inductee of the American Literary Heroines Hall of Fame, with each in their own way worthy being counterparts of the iconic Lady of Letters, Canadian Anne Shirley. Yet no less an enduring phenomenon is Jo March, who first appeared on the literary landscape in 1869 courtesy of Bostonian Louisa May Alcott. A kind of feminine treatise as spirited as Helen Reddy's song ‘I Am Woman’ and containing the defiant bravado of Virginia Woolf, Little Women, the novel showcasing the heroine's ascendancy to gender equality, has been one of the cinema's most attended literary properties, dating back to the silent era and including the beloved 1933 George Cukor adaptation starring Katherine Hepburn and a rightly venerated 1994 version directed by Gillian Armstrong and featuring Winona Ryder as the irascible lead. One of the country's finest contemporary female directors, Greta Gerwig won rapturous praise -even from Armstrong herself- for what must surely be counted as the most profound examination of Alcott's timeless work- one that expanded the physical parameters and has offered up some character revisions that have deepened the context and accentuated the atmosphere.
“First off, Gerwig opted to shoot the film in the area where Alcott lived, namely Concord, Mass with its ravishing autumnal color palette and scenic resplendence including the trademark fireplace and dinner table congregation for a Christmas lunch. Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux, composer Alexandre Desplat and Oscar winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran pressed all the right buttons to insure a sensory immersion to guard against any potential plotting convolutions. Despite a tiny minority taking issue with the film's ‘structure’ fans of Gerwig's revisionist opus were by and large elated with the central character’s metamorphosis from a love-struck novice in the way of the world to a fearless author proudly declaring her worthwhile negotiating her maiden publishing venture, which Gerwig poses as a much more satisfying finale than any romantic consummation.
“Though awards groups have chosen elsewhere for ensemble honors one need not look further than the dream cast Gerwig showcases headed by Saoirse Ronan as the incorrigible, rebellious Jo, in one of the year's best performances in any acting category; Florence Pugh (Amy) who transcends the character's previous incarnation as a spoiled and bratty child to become more well-rounded and a potential foil to Jo. Gerwig's Little Women it can be persuasively argued, is as much Amy's story as Jo's and Pugh (also superlative in Lady Macbeth and Midsommar) in her Oscar-nominated performance exudes a radiance as a gifted 23-year-old who seems much older and yearns for experience. It is of no small wonder that the normally exceptional Emma Watson (Meg) and Eliza Scanlen (Beth) are pushed to the background by the very comparative nature of their roles. Meryl Streep as the spangled Aunt March is typically splendid; Timothée Chalamet in another role that has both girls and boys fawning enters the costumed sphere with comprehensive appeal as Laurie the next door neighbor Jo ironically loves so much that she balks at marrying him; Chris Cooper delivers another extraordinary turn as a melancholic grandfather, and Laura Dern in her somewhat less famous 2019 performance. but one just as accomplished, brings her typical thespian command as the loving Marmee, whose role in life is to sacrifice.
“In the end Gerwig (like Quentin Tarantino in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, who ‘avenged’ the Manson family murders) brings full justice to Ms. Alcott's compromised ending with a free-spirited coda that should be an inspiration for future generations. This is the Little Women in thought, word and deed that has done the book's author the sturdiest measure of justice and it is unquestionably one of the very best films of 2019.” ~ Sam Juliano
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