Gonna be honest: I’ve seen a TON of movies aimed at women (I’ve referred to them as “Chick-Flicks”, but in this ever-increasingly dangerous information age, I’m not sure if that’s okay anymore), and most are not great. There are a few diamonds, but most are pretty-yet-fake knock-offs of better movies. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to this one, even if the story is a classic, but when you see three movies a week, you are kinda left to the wolves after awhile, and you have to go with what’s left after the carnage. So, I reluctantly sat down, readying myself for a boring and uneventful time.
I will now insert my foot into my mouth. only a bit, though.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a great book, and has already been adapted to multiple mediums (including an already-fantastic film version in 1994), so in my mind, I’m not really sure why they thought it needed to be made again. Another take on a beloved story, perhaps? Well, no; it’s pretty much the same story with a few additions, but that’s about it. To watch mainly foreign actresses portray Americans in a film? I mean, I guess, but that just sounds kind of offensive. Lacklaster performance of the last version? Maybe, I suppose (the contemporary version in 2018 wasn’t not particularly well-done). Like I said, can’t think of a reason that it was remade…
Not that I mind, really, since the film is WAY better than I expected! Acting, music, story-beats, set design (ESPECIALLY set design, my God!), and just about everything else was top-notch, and the way they threw in the novel being written within the actual story was a nice touch. Some of the acting seemed a bit on the dramatic side, but it’s based in Massachusetts in the 1860’s, so that’s kind of to be expected. I think I’ll be keeping an eye on Greta Gerwig’s work from now on, because her directing a script surprisingly helped this version stand even just a little higher that most other takes on its source material (although I’ll have to go back and watch the 1994 film to truly compare).
As a whole, Little Women seems a bit on the unnecessary side, but I’m still glad that it was made, considering how much I enjoyed it, frilly ascots and all.
