Piccole donne

I read through many of the reviews for this 2019 version of "Little Women" and noticed that most reviewers adored the film. Because of this, I assumed I also would love the movie. Sadly, however, I was left feeling ambivalent about it...and I noticed that my wife and oldest daughter felt pretty much the same way.

I won't talk about the plot...after all, there's a summary on IMDB and lots of reviews talk about this. What I should mention is that the film is much more like the book than previous versions....a plus. But the reasons I still did not love this film are what stop me from recommending the film. First, there simply is too much story to cram into a little over two hours. If you are going to try to stick closer to the book, then perhaps consider making it a mini-series. This is because although the film is more like the book, to do this they also omit a lot of things....making the story seem a bit disjoint and confusing. Second, I really didn't think they did a good job of helping the viewers to actually care about the characters. Some of this was because the little women in the story were poorly chosen--much too old in some cases (the 12 year-old early in the story looked to be about 20). Some was because the choppiness of the story really harmed the film because the characters just seemed one-dimensional. Overall, a decent story but even with its sticking closer to the book, I much preferred the 1990s version...which was much more charming, fun and likable.

Greta has made me feel nostalgic for a feeling I cannot express. Little Women transported me back to a state of expression I've been meaning to express for quite a while. With Jo and her will to excel through life and love, I seek to gather all my strength in rowing my boat with time and love by my side. For life's too short to be angry about things that haven't gone your way. There's only a path forward, connections made with time and people living their lives, but out of all, you're living yours, as of now, and the best you can do is, be yourself, unapologetically, forever. That's what Little Women has instilled in me, toward the end. It sure is a beautiful rendition, a promising take on an everlasting classic.

Such a pleasure to watch a wonderful feel good film. Granted I got confused by the end with the jumping back and forth but most the time you knew what was going on by the mood of everyone. Absolutely brilliant

I admit, I wasn't too impressed by Greta Gerwig's Ladybird. I found Little Women a whole other level of a movie. It's not just that the source material provided a much more colorful story. It's not just that the March sisters seem to be richer characters than Ladybird's decidedly bland heroine. To me with this film Gerwig emerged as a master storyteller and a true auteur. I loved how instead of following chronological order, she presented the story as more of a memory stream. Even though constant time jumps were confusing at first, especially since the characters didn't change much, I thought it made the movie more engaging and somehow more relatable. It created some incredibly poignant moments, like the two times Jo (Saoirse Ronan) wakes up and doesn't find Beth (Eliza Scanlen) in her bed. And I got that strange and wonderful feeling like I was in the midst of it rather than outside looking in. Even bits like when Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts) tells what he wrote to Jo directly to the camera rather than as a voice over, that in a different movie would seem like a gimmick, here felt perfectly organic and gave the film a little extra kick. The entire sequence that moves between Jo negotiating her fate with him and living it is pure brilliance. The cast is great in a way that goes beyond just being able to portray complex emotions. What struck me the most was that by the end I found myself in love with every single character. Not because they are saintly, but because they are human. Alive. Warm. Even Meryl Streep's Aunt March is lovable because it's clear that behind everything she says, she cares deeply about the girls.

There was only one thing that bugged me a little - too little difference in the sisters' appearance between the two time periods. It ultimately worked anyway, except for Amy. Florence Pugh is a fantastic actress and she did a great job making Amy act like a 13 year old. But she just didn't look like a 13 year old, especially next to her older sisters. I kept wondering why she was always left behind, why she needed Jo to take her ice skating, and how it was that she couldn't understand why Jo stayed mad at her after what she'd done. It also made Laurie's (Timothee Chalamet) sudden change of heart about her hard to buy.

Little Women (2019) is a wonderful movie from every aspect. It has a powerful story, superb acting and beautiful costumes and design. Moreover, it seems to me that I am flipping the pages of a painting book. Every scene looks like a beautiful canvas.