Overview
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
I’ll say right up front that I am not “burdened” (that doesn’t feel like the right word) by having an intimate knowledge of the book so my review is not affected positively or negatively by the director’s interpretation of the original work. That said…. I really loved it. While the jumping between timelines seemed somewhat arbitrary at first towards the end of the movie it all started to come together. It doesn’t always work but when it does (Godfather Two, Once Upon a Time In America, Blue Valentine) the film can take on the feel of an epic. I think this technique gave us the best view of the complex character of Jo, and in the final scenes the struggles of her complex character resulted in a beautiful bloom. While I thought Lady Bird was terribly overrated I thought that Gerwig did a masterful job with this film. It was at different parts funny, touching, sad and hopeful. And as you might expect, the acting is phenomenal.
One thing that really struck me personally is the relationship that the women have with each other. I grew up in a house full of strangers and I must say that I could relate to the envious looks that the men had on their faces when they met the happy family. I’ve always wanted to have that kind of relationship with any group but it just never worked out that way. I think you are either born into that or you are not. I know that Alcott also did not have this experience – I can’t imagine it being imagined any better than she did. I think part of what makes her imagery so special is that the good is put on display along with the bad.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews Little Women
Movie title: Little Women
Movie description: Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Date published: 2020-03-21
Director(s): Greta Gerwig
Actor(s): Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Jayne Houdyshell, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, Rafael Silva, Mason Alban, Emily Edström, Maryann Plunkett, Hadley Robinson, Lonnie Farmer, Charlotte Kinder, Ana Cruz Kayne, Edgar Damatian, Erin Rose, Lizzie Short, Dash Barber, Edward Fletcher, Sasha Frolova, David J. Curtis, Harper Pilat, Eowyn Young, Lucy Austin, Bill Mootos, Lewis D. Wheeler, Jen Nikolaisen, Jonathon Acorn, Abby Quinn, Lilly Englert, J.M. Davis, Tom Kemp, Daniel Shea, Anthony Estrella, Adrianne Krstansky, Sophia Gialloreto, Lily Gavin, Finola Weller Baldet, Flannery Gregg, Tony Tucker, Joanne Caidor, Rosario Guillen, Margaret Clinton Weeks, Alexander Jimenez, Natalie Kurzava, J. Michael Winward, Adrian Hoffman, Stephen Ursprung, Tyler Catanella, Jenna Pollack, Meghan Hornblower, Elizabeth Dunn, Danielle Pastuszak, Shawn Ahern, Ellen Oliver, Haley Grove, Sydney Grant, Sayer Mansfield, Jen Passios, Juliana Utz, Justin Genna, Mathew Steele, Preston Martin, Taylor Jorgensen, Nicholas Deyo, Lily Peterson, Jared Reinfeldt, Amber Rothberg, Liam Buckley, Laura Mazziotti
Genre: Drama, Romance, History
My Review
I’ll say right up front that I am not “burdened” (that doesn’t feel like the right word) by having an intimate knowledge of the book so my review is not affected positively or negatively by the director’s interpretation of the original work. That said…. I really loved it. While the jumping between timelines seemed somewhat arbitrary at first towards the end of the movie it all started to come together. It doesn’t always work but when it does (Godfather Two, Once Upon a Time In America, Blue Valentine) the film can take on the feel of an epic. I think this technique gave us the best view of the complex character of Jo, and in the final scenes the struggles of her complex character resulted in a beautiful bloom. While I thought Lady Bird was terribly overrated I thought that Gerwig did a masterful job with this film. It was at different parts funny, touching, sad and hopeful. And as you might expect, the acting is phenomenal.
One thing that really struck me personally is the relationship that the women have with each other. I grew up in a house full of strangers and I must say that I could relate to the envious looks that the men had on their faces when they met the happy family. I’ve always wanted to have that kind of relationship with any group but it just never worked out that way. I think you are either born into that or you are not. I know that Alcott also did not have this experience – I can’t imagine it being imagined any better than she did. I think part of what makes her imagery so special is that the good is put on display along with the bad.
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My Review - 9/10
9/10