Little Women | Movie Review

If the timing of this review and my forthcoming Rise of Skywalker review is a sign of anything, it's that I don't exactly see movies with any sense of urgency. I want to make sure to see them, but I don't make a point of going to anything opening weekend. That being said my wife and I wanted a few weeks to see Little Women and the theater was still packed. I waited even longer to write a review because... well... I forgot that I didn't post this yet. Though it was half price day at our local movie viewing venue, it's still impressive that so many people turned out for a weeks old film. But did this 7th theatrical retelling of Louisa May Alcott's classic book worth the hype? Here's my review.

I have to admit that I went into this film expecting to like it and that could have colored my overall enjoyment, but I had good sources that said it was good and frankly the trailers had done a wonderful job of getting me stoked to see Greta Gerwig's interpretation of the book. I must admit one more thing. I have yet to see Lady Bird. In my defense, the trailer made it look like utter artsy indie garbage, but after experiencing Gerwig's vision with Little Women, I'm curious to see how she did with a story I had no interest in.

But let's talk about Little Women. It was engrossing, it was endearing, and it was delightful. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen from beginning to end and by the end I felt like I knew Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth better than ever before. This old story was equal parts new and familiar. As you may know, Little Women is told across two major periods in the lives of the sisters and Gerwig's vision had to story jumping back and forth. Even though the movie jumped so much, it was easy to follow and the reasoning behind the timing of the jumps made a lot of sense. It never once altered the flow of the film.

The acting was mostly superb. I say mostly because Emma Watson is in it and she's more one note than the last post-it in a stack. She's more wooden than Huck Finn's raft and the fact that she was with some amazing actors didn't help much. Saoirse Ronan and Laura Dern stole the show. Florence Pugh made Amy into a relateable character and Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper served as backbones to their various parts of the film. Let's not forget Timothee Chalamet as the representation of growth from child to adult as Laurie learns to not be such a wiener. With such outstanding acting, Emma Watson's lackluster ability stuck out like Star Trek cosplayer at a Ren Faire.

Hermionie Granger aside, Little Women was a fantastic movie and it was something I'd recommend to anyone. Even if you've seen each and every version of Little Women, this one sets itself apart from the rest not only through it's acting but its pacing and rearranged story. I don't own any versions of Little Women yet, but this is the one I'll buy. I don't need any others.

Little Women gets an 11 out of 11