To celebrate that strange in-between that March often becomes (when it should feel like spring but still feels like winter), I decided to turn to my favorite film for this time of year. I know some people choose to revisit “Little Women” (2019) as a Christmas movie, but to me, the way the passing years are portrayed always feels most fitting in the odd space between winter and springtime. Plus, their last name is March. Fitting, right?
All that aside, Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” (2019) is possibly one of my favorite films of all time. It never gets old, and even though I grew up with the 1994 version starring Winona Ryder and Christian Bale, this has become the penultimate version of this story and these characters in my mind. The film exudes comfort, largely due to Gerwig’s direction and unique style of orchestrating each scene. For that specific demographic of girls with sisters, it reads incredibly relatable.
What I find unique about this film is how versatile all of these characters are. While most people will say they relate most to one sister or the other—mostly Jo or Amy—what Gerwig accomplished in this adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s original novel is breathtaking. Whenever I watch this, I find myself relating to all of the sisters in their own ways.
Amy’s constant feeling of being in the shadow of her elder sisters is strikingly poignant to me, as a little sister myself, but Jo’s determination and drive to be a writer is also knit within me. Beth’s kindness and gentleness and Meg’s more simple–but no less important–goals also resonate with different parts of me; that sense of relatability is a universal experience for women watching this film. Each of the March sisters comes alive off the screen, and all come together to depict womanhood with a unique depth.
Not only was “Little Women” one of the first places that the casual movie-goer might have ever heard the names of stars like Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, but it’s also carried wonderfully by its more seasoned cast members, Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Bob Odenkirk and the legend of the silver screen herself: Meryl Streep. The cast works extraordinarily well together, and every beat of chemistry– platonic or romantic–feels authentic and genuine. Whether it’s a scene between the entire family or isolated more to one or two characters, the whole film is steeped in authenticity that helps it feel warm and comforting to many.
Gerwig’s “Little Women” feels like a cup of tea laden with honey, like a crackling fireplace in the middle of winter or the first wildflowers to poke up through the last snowfall. I always find it fascinating to learn more about all the steps Gerwig took to ensure that she fostered an authentic bond of sisterhood between the March sisters, which paid off astoundingly.
Rating: 5/5
