Little Women

Image credit: Poster Ninja

While period films are certainly not for everyone, I have discovered in recent years that they have replaced trashy rom-coms as my new guilty pleasure. It may sound pretentious, but this is a definite improvement. Recently, I indulged and had a little ‘me day’, taking myself to the movies to see Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.

Based on the timeless story by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women follows Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) as she struggles to be a female writer in a man’s world, whilst reflecting on the many marvellous adventures and missteps of her childhood with her mother and three sisters: each a strong woman determined to live the life she wants and not have it dictated by society.

Greta Gerwig has to be one of the finest and most versatile female writer/director of this day and age! Having secured Oscar nominations for her biographical film Lady Bird last season, she follows it up with this simply gorgeous adaptation of a timeless classic, which has already secured its nominations for the gold statuette!

Jumping back and forth between past and present, the film is both delightfully period in its stunning achievements in wardrobe, hair and makeup design, and refreshingly modern in the strength and delightful variety of its leading cast. Saoirse Ronan delivers a stunning performance as the girl struggling to retain the innocence and independence of girlhood whilst trying to carry herself as a strong and independent woman in the world of men. 

Image credit: Refinery29

Indeed the cast in its entirety was absolutely delightful with Emma Watson being perfectly humble, Florence Pugh doing a remarkable job of the being the snobbish sister you love to hate, and Eliza Scanlen as the perfect, sweet, selfless, introverted Beth. To top if off, Laura Dern is the absolute epitome of motherly love and nurturing nature as Marmee! The cast chemistry is what makes this film so beautiful and it is indeed, one of the strongest and most seriously gorgeous female casts to grace the screen!

With multiple narratives of drama, romance, comedy, and tragedy, Little Women is a must-see for literature-lovers, romantics, cinephiles, and those in between. It’s absolutely beautiful!

Director: Greta Gerwig, 2019

Cast: Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Chris Cooper, and Meryl Streep