January
09
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Little Women (2019)
Just as an impressionist painting highlights feeling over seeing, Little Women (2019) invites devotees of the classic to feel into the lives of the March family women rather than see what life was actually like in 1860s America. Those unfamiliar with the novel, however, may find that the myriad of tiny brushstrokes and irregular flashbacks obstruct narrative logic. Remember: we are talking about film, not literature, and a good film must stand on its own merits.
The broad storyline is easier to sketch than the labyrinth of melodramatic sibling rivalries, babble, romances, and posturing for a socially advantageous marriage. Daughter Jo (Saorise Ronan) is a writer and it is through her eyes that we know about sisters Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh), Beth (Eliza Scanlen), mother Marmee (Laura Dern) and Aunt March (Meryl Streep). Males are in short supply as the able-bodied poor are fighting in the Civil War while the indolent rich and others stay as prey for young women looking for social respectability via a husband of means.
The film’s visual pleasures are far greater than its storytelling prowess. The sets and colour palette are richly evocative of 19th Century paintings, with framing in the classic portraiture styles of the era. There is talent galore: rarely does a single film see such a stellar ensemble. The March women are all charming and perhaps overly-sugared caricatures, having different blends of kindness and feisty assertiveness not usually associated with the gender norms of the time. The individual coming-of-age vignettes are engaging and illustrative of social themes that remain relevant today.
Despite the enjoyable visuals, this film struggles to be a great work because of its uneven direction. Louisa May Alcott fans might revel in the film’s richness, but others may find the acting discontinuous and pace jumpy to the point of feeling fractured. The over-use of flashbacks without contextual signals lose continuity and create confusion over timeframes. Some scenes are saccharine, like the women’s jaunty visit to a poor neighbour’s house to share Christmas food. Other scenes are emotionally flat: Mr March’s homecoming from the War could easily have been a return from a fishing trip. The social relativities of the time are represented ambiguously, with the March women looking well-to-do in some scenes and poor in others.
Adaptations of classic novels to film are opportunities to re-live reading memories, enrich historical understanding and recognise continuities between past and present. For many, only the first goal will be well met; otherwise Little Women presumes more than it offers.
Director: Greta Gerwig
Stars: Saorise Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep
CineMuseFilms 
Richard, so agree with your review. I started my musings three days ago and stopped to reflect on how much hype this film is getting. I felt the dance movements and energy was basically out of sync with the times. I did like Chris Cooper and Florence Pugh, especially.
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“The film’s visual pleasures are far greater than its storytelling prowess”…I think your sentence captures the problem with the film, though I still liked this a lot more than you. (I have to admit to being confused by the changes in timeframe with only the length of Jo’s hair as a visual marker).
Confusion aside, I was prepared to leave reason behind and allow myself to be swallowed up in the moment. Any vague disquiet i felt about the lives of women at the time was put aside in my eagerness to identify.
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“Some scenes are saccharine, like the women’s jaunty visit to a poor neighbour’s house to share Christmas food. Other scenes are emotionally flat: Mr. March’s homecoming from the War could easily have been a return from a fishing trip.” You hit the nail on the head.
I enjoyed the book series as a child. But not too long ago I tried rereading Little Women. As an adult, I could find no traction, no character to relate to. It felt reminiscent of British genre films (and British women’s literature) which I’ve never had patience for. I liked the acting and the sets and costumes. But by the end of the film I felt sort of “meh.”
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“Meh” is an excellent and succinct summary, thank you.
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I was looking forward to seeing this after watching the 1994 version. But afterwards, I wondered if Greta was temporarily possessed by the director of Lethal Weapon; it felt like I was watching an action movie instead of a drama. I was quite disappointed.
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