Little Women – Big Heart

I had seen this film once before, curled up on my parent’s couch back in April 2020, a time when no one was certain of the future. I remember enjoying the film then, but after watching again now I really loved it.

I was shocked that Tori had never seen this. She loves this genre, so I knew I had to show it to her. I’ll pass it over to her now.

Pre-viewing:

I’m fairly certain that at some point in my life, I have seen one of the other film adaptations of this novel. I have read the novel and know what to expect from the storyline. I remember very little about the character Meg, so I’m looking forward to seeing Emma Watson’s portrayal and hoping she can make the character more memorable for me.

Post-viewing:

I enjoyed the way the story was presented with jumps from the past to the present. I also appreciated each actress’s portrayals of their sister characters. Unfortunately, while Watson did a fine job acting, the character of Meg is still lacking for me. I don’t see that as a fault of the acting or even the scriptwriting, but probably more due to Louisa May Alcott’s lack of connection with that character herself. 

I really appreciated the ending of the film. It has been a very long time since I read the novel, but I don’t believe that exchange with the editor happened in the book and is actually more reflective of exchanges that happened between Alcott and her editor. In that sense, I wish that Bhaer had been portrayed more accurately to the book – middle-aged, and I have this mental image of him being not conventionally attractive based on how he was described in the novel (which, again, I haven’t read in a very long time). I think it would have made a stronger statement in keeping with Alcott’s sentiment to have the heroine married off to the book character rather than the film’s adaptation of him.

Nick’s thoughts:

I forgot just how great this was. I could spend time praising all of the actors individually, but instead I’ll just say they all did a great job. Even Chalamet, who normally I think of as a shrimp, did fantastic. However, Saoirse Ronan as Jo March stole the show, giving both a personal and gripping performance that demands your full attention.

I also really loved the score, an orchestra which neither dominated, nor let you forget it – a delicate balance which was perfectly implemented.

The biggest praise from me would be for the director Greta Gerwig, who had total understanding of the story and how to best tell it. As Tori said, the multiple timelines enhanced this story immensely. I can see how this story is highly encouraging to writers and creators of all types. I found it inspiring myself. When Jo’s novel was burned, I felt her pain deeply.

Stay tuned for next week, when I introduce Tori to another film!