Little Women (2019)

  I was not going to watch this initially.  Little Women was one of my absolute favorite books as a child and I could not get over my fear that this adaptation would ruin it.  But two of my friends also loved that book and convinced me to see it with them today as a group.

Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is trying to make it as a writer in New York City.  She has had some success with sordid little romances in serials but her pride is checked when they are reviewed unfavorably by a professor she admires (Louis Garrel).  A family emergency prompts her to return home to her sister, Beth (Eliza Scanlan), who is gravely ill.  On her journey, Jo remembers her childhood and reflects on how their lives have changed.

This is definitely not for people new to the story.  You really need to have read the book.  The movie timeline is not linear and it jumps from "present" to "past" in ways that could be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the source material.  I think the casting was very good, but I did not like the direction given to Florence Pugh as Amy.  She basically just pouts and frowns a lot (which, to be fair, is what book Amy does) but it just seemed kind of a waste for Pugh.  She does have more of a dramatic scene with Laurie (Timothée Chalamet) in Paris than she gets in the book, so that kind of makes up for it.  All in all, there was a lot more depth of emotion from these portrayals than any other adaptation I have seen.  Especially Chris Cooper as Mr. Lawrence.  He was the best I've ever seen him here.

If I am really mad about any decision made here, it's got to be the depiction of Freidrich Bhaer.  He is supposed to be based on Louisa May Alcott's crush, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a man twenty years older than her.  Book Friedrich is large, older, German, and homely.  Louis Garrel is French, 36, and looks like a male model.  It is some bullshit.

I do not like Greta Gerwig, neither as an actress nor as a director.  This is much better than Lady Bird, however.