Little Women Double Review
Little Women is a film about four Sisters growing up in Concord, Massachusetts during the 1860’s. They are living in the care of their mother while their father is fighting in the American Civil War. The sisters are: Jo a headstrong tomboy who longs to be a writer; Meg the beautiful one; Beth who is a fragile, gentle, kind woman always living for others and Amy the youngest who is very spoilt but still likeable, She is also a very talented artist. The story tells how the sisters grow up, find love and their place in the world. It is based on a book by Louisa May Alcott, and it is an semi- autobiographical account of her life and her sisters. This film was a request from Jonathan Thomas.
The 1994 film version of Little Women came out a year before I was born, and it was a film that I grew up on, as our Mother loved the story of Little Women. Our Mum says it was her favourite book when she was a little girl. She remembers that her Mother gave her the book as a present, so the story has a very special place in her heart. (Love you Mum). I have not yet read the book, but it is definitely near the top of my to read list.
Verity and I used to pick a sister to be. She always said that she was Jo, which I one hundred percent believed she was. When I was little, I think I always wanted to be Beth but Verity always said that I was such an Amy which used to annoy me. Nowadays I’m ok with being considered to be an Amy as I think I do share some similarities with her. I also believe that no one could be as good as Beth. Verity now says that I am a combination of Beth and Amy, as she says I have the best qualities of both of them (love you big sis). Verity and I are still agreed that she is Jo.
You can probably gather from that this story is very close to my family and hearts. Although our Dad isn’t keen on it which is completely fine by me (love you Dad). Our Dad says he can see that it is a good film but it is too girly for him, which I can understand.
When I was 9 and Verity was 12 we went on holiday with our parents to Boston, Massachusetts, Sebasco in Maine and New Hampshire. Mum really wanted to go to the house that Louisa May Alcott grew up in and where the film was filmed. It was really interesting going around the house and I remember lots of things that the tour guide said. For example, she said that you could always tell if Louisa was in a bad mood or a good mood by the state of the pillow in the living room. I also remember that I was incredibly sad when someone asked a very important question, “Was Laurie real or based on anybody?”.
The tour guide said “No”.
There was an audible gasp of dismay from the crowd of people there! Then, I can’t remember if it was the same person who asked before or not but someone asked with a hint of desperation, “Was Mr Bhaer real?”
The tour guide said, “He might have been,” with a smile on her face.
This makes me think she was letting down the crowd easy as I know that Louisa May Alcott never married or had children. I did hear an interesting quote from Louisa May Alcott which may or may not be taken out of context by today’s society. The quote is this-
“I’m more than half persuaded that I am a man’s soul put by some freak of nature in a woman’s body because I have fallen in love with many pretty women and never once the least bit with any man.”
Little Women 1994
This is a film I grew up on. It is definitely one of my favourite films. It is also one of Mums favourite films.
What I liked
There is a lot to love about this film. I love the score which is by composer John Newman. My favourite tunes from the soundtrack are The Orchard House as I love the jolly introduction to the March family. I also really like the song For the Beauty of The Earth which is sung by the cast as Meg and John Brooke get married. The Valley of the Shadows which is played during the saddest scene in the film is just so beautiful and heart-breaking, especially when you hear the choir starting in and the echoes. Under the Umbrella is also really good as it finishes with the jolliness of the story.
I really like Winona Ryder as Jo as even though physically she is described in the book as being very tall for a woman and not pretty. However, I think she captured the personality of Jo perfectly. I particularly like her scenes with Beth as I love their bond. I do think that Winona is drop dead gorgeous.
I love Christian Bale as Laurie! I think even though Timothee Chalamet is an excellent Laurie as well... I personally think because I grew up with Bale as Laurie so he is my Laurie.
What I Disliked
I disliked Samantha Mathis as older Amy. I really liked Kirstin Dunst as young Amy as I think she played the part very well considering how young she was. However I think Samantha Mathis’ Amy was very cold and distant, The spark in young Amy that I loved even though at times she could be a spoilt brat was gone. I did not care that much for older Amy as I find the performance quite bad. Samantha Mathis also seems to have too much of a monotone delivery for me and made Amy very boring.
Another thing I disliked and maybe I’m being too harsh on Samantha Mathis is I felt that she did not have that much chemistry with Christian Bale. I do like Laurie and Amy together as a couple though despite the lack of a spark between them. I felt that Christian Bale had better chemistry with Winona Ryder. It might be because as a little girl I always wanted Laurie and Jo to get together but as an adult I can understand that they were not compatible with one another. For a start he asked her to marry him when she was still way too young. Especially the fact that in his proposal scene he says,
“You won’t have to write, not if you don’t want to.”
He seemed to not understand that writing was more than an occupation to Jo it was more of a need and a passion. Whereas Mr Bhaer saw her and said he could tell that she was a writer. There are also times when he said she can write better than what she had written and that she needed to write from the depths of her soul. Although I also did hear that Louisa May Alcott wanted Jo to remain single but the publishers told her the book wouldn’t sell if Jo didn’t get married. Louisa got quite annoyed by this.
Conclusion
This film makes me think of Christmas! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy like I’ve just had hot chocolate with marshmallows or a very strong gin and tonic! I think that it is an almost perfect film and I will continue to love it for the rest of my days. It is a classic for me and is probably a 9.5- 9.75 out of 10. Although in my heart I feel it’s a 100 out of 10 but then again... no movie is flawless
Little Women 2019
I only saw this film a couple of weeks ago with Verity. I didn’t get to see it in the cinemas when it came out, but Verity did and had said that she really liked it. It stars Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Florence Pugh as Amy, Timothee Chalamet as Laurie, Emma Watson as Meg and Laura Dern as Marmie. It differs from the 1994 version as this one is a nonlinear film and keeps going backwards and forward in time whereas the 1994 version is done in a linear timeline.
What I liked
Saoirse Ronan, I am a fan of Saoirse Ronan’s work. I have seen quite a few of her films including The Lovely Bones, Hannah, How I Live Now, Brooklyn and Ladybird so I knew that she is an exceptionally talented actress. An interesting fact is that when she heard that Greta Gerwig was going to be directing a remake of Little Women, Saoirse reached out to her to tell her that she wanted to play Jo. Greta was hesitant in casting Saoirse as Jo as they had just worked together on Ladybird. However, Greta decided that it was a very Jo like thing to do- ie to cast ones self as Jo. Gerwig sent an email to Saoirse saying, “Yes you are Jo.”
I think that her assessment about Saoirse was correct as she did manage to give off a strong vibe of Jo in terms of her strong personality and passions. One of my Favourite scenes was an emotional heart to heart that Jo has with her mother and Saoirse gave a brilliant monologue performance during the scene.
“Women they have minds and the have souls as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition and they’ve got talent as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for.”
She also physically looks right for Jo compared to Winona Ryder as I think Saoirse is very pretty but in a more quirky way compared to how beautiful Winona Ryder is.
This is my second time watching something with Florence Pugh in it, The first one was the film Outlaw King which I have to say I did not enjoy particularly as I watched it with Dad telling me how historically inaccurate it was. Our dad is a big history buff. When Verity saw this film she told me that Florence Pugh was really good and had true star quality in the role. When I watched the film I did think that she looked way too old to play young Amy who is only meant to be 12 years old in the early scenes of the story. It particularly was noticeable and a bit distracting in the scene where she’s at the school and there are some teenage girls sitting around her which made her look like a woman in her twenties and made me laugh a bit. That being said I thought her performance was great as Amy. I was pleased that she managed to keep the spark that I loved about Amy in her adult years that did not translate as well in the 1994 version. As I have mentioned in the 1994 version, I dislike older Amy but love young Amy in that film. With the 2019 film I liked both baby Amy and adult Amy. I will say I honestly think she was a far better Amy than Samantha Mathis ever was. Furthermore, Laurie and Amy’s romance was much better executed in the 2019 film as Timothee and Florence had good chemistry together and made the romance more genuine and less forced between them.
I am quite late to the craze that is the “Internet Boyfriend” Timothee Chalamet! Or should I say the nickname Verity and I came up with for him, which is Timothee Chamalamadingdong! When asked by interviewer about how he felt to be considered to be the “Internet’s Boyfriend” he said
“I thought Keanu Reeves was the internet boyfriend.”
I personally don’t fancy him in that way, but I think he’s a really good actor and seems such a sweetheart. I have only seen him in one other film which was Ladybird and I thought he was really good in that even though he wasn’t a very nice character in it. I loved Timothee Chalamet as Laurie! In the 1994 version Christian Bale’s Laurie was possibly my favourite character in the film so Timothee had a lot of competition going in terms of making me not picture Christian Bale. Timothee played the part perfectly so much so that I did not want Christian Bale to suddenly appear out of nowhere and say to Timothee,
“I’ll take over mate!”.
I didn’t want Timothee to then spontaneously disappear so that Christian would carry on the scene! Timothee made the part his own. The warmth and charisma that I loved about Laurie was there in his performance as well as Laurie’s flawed negative traits. As I mentioned earlier I still think Christian Bale is my Laurie because I grew up with him in the part but I loved both versions of the character. Timothee’s Laurie truly does stand on his own!
What I disliked
I really disliked Louis Garrel performance as Mr Frederick Bhaer. He was not right for the part. For a starter Bhaer is meant to have a German accent and in this film his accent sounded more French than German. I was actually unsurprised to learn that Louis is actually French in real life. Also, physically he was not right for the role as Mr Bhaer is described as being big and having the appearance like a bear. The romance between Jo and Bhaer in this film felt forced partially due to how little screen time Bhaer was given in the film. For about three quarters of the film it felt like Jo had all but completely forgotten about him. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere he reappears, and people say to Jo,
“My god you’re completely in love with him, aren’t you?!”
It felt far too artificial and Hollywoodised for my taste. Gabriel Byrne was also not physically right but gave a much better performance as Bhaer than Louis did.
Ok, some people might not be happy with what I’m about to say. I personally dislike Emma Watson as an actress. I was disappointed to learn that she was in this film when I first looked up the cast list. Don’t get me wrong Emma Watson is really pretty and could be a really nice person for all I know but I don’t think she is talented at acting. For a starter, her American accent is so bad. I find it funny that none of the actors in this film were actually American. Saoirse was born in New York but raised in Ireland. Eliza Scanlon is Australian and both Emma Watson and Florence Pugh are English. However, Watson’s accent was the worst. I personally thought she was very bland as Meg. Trini Alvarado was a far better Meg than Emma was. Eric Stoltz was also a far better John Brooke than James Norton was.
Another problem I had with this film is the non linear timeline. In some aspects I really liked this way of telling the story but I think that at times it was just too much and got confusing. I did notice something interesting that the scenes in the further past are bright colourful and cheerful looking but the scenes in the present are dark and gloomy. I think that this was deliberate as it seems to mean that Jo should write about the depths of her soul, (i.e. her childhood with her sisters) there is so much joy. So in some ways I really liked the flitting backwards and forward but I also think that the 1994 linear timeline works better and makes more sense.
Verity’s Views
This whole review is a major love-in for the story of Little Women, so I’m going to jump in too. Row and I grew up with the 1994 film, and I also had a tape of it that I used to play whilst prancing around on my bed- my stage, if you will- acting out all the parts for my audience of disinterested Barbie’s and teddy bears.
Row and I watched the 1994 version on repeat growing up, and like Row, I love it for all the reasons she does. As a movie it has such a strong sense of place, warm-heartedness and love for all the characters (bar Amy, who like Row said, falls flat after Kirsten Dunst exits).
Therefore, I was trepidatious going to see the 2019 version, as unnecessary remakes are tiresome and frustrating. When there’s so many stories out there to tell, why do we keep trotting out the same one?
However, whilst I felt the 2019 version is so confidently different, that it adds a really interesting angle to what the story Little Women is all about.
Whilst it is flawed in places- particularly the treatment of Jo havering about Laurie and her daft station run to Bhaer at the end- I think it’s a really worthwhile adaptation. It takes risks with the non-linear approach and with that finds new ways to communicate important aspects of the story. I listened to a podcast with Greta Gerwig recently where she said she was terrified by how linear life is, how there’s such a scary forward propulsion that pulls you along.
I thought therefore it was really interesting that she chose to tell Little Women in a non-linear way. Jo is also terrified by the passage of time and who we were and what we lose as we get older. The flashbacks really accentuate that, and amplify a bittersweet quality that is quite key to the story.
At times the flashbacks are overused, and to a new viewer may feel confusing, but I just think so many period dramas feel tired and cardboard cut out, and this feels fresh and modern. Furthermore, certain character treatments- the fleshing out of Amy, and Jo’s publishing attempts communicate an even more overtly feminist stance to a book that was hugely feminist for its time.
Overall, I think the 2019 has so much to offer, and whilst it’s flawed and a bit wonky in places, it’s brave and bold and has its heart in the right place as much as the 1994 version does.
Mum’s Views
“Little Women” was my favourite book when I was a girl, so any film has a lot to live up to! I feel the recent version has a number of strong positives: good performances from the actors portraying Jo, Laurie and Amy; an interesting attempt to interweave Louisa Alcott’s writing career with Jo’s storyline; and beautiful cinematography. However, I felt it was badly let down by the final section relating to Jo’s romance. It is a weak part of the book, but this bordered on the farcical. I disliked the way certain characters were portrayed – Marmie is too much “one of the girls” and therefore lacks the moral authority which is fundamental to her relationship with her daughters and the storyline as a whole ; Mr. Lawrence is too friendly from the start which means the scene where Beth embraces him lacks the emotional depth which it should convey; Mr. Brooke’s character lacks any depth; and Mr Bhaer is simply transformed in a French heartthrob. Also, whilst some of the time changes work effectively to highlight various themes within the film, I felt this device was used too frequently and therefore detracted from the film as a whole. I also missed the fabulous soundtrack of the 1994 version which remains my favourite.
Conclusion
The 2019 version has a lot of things that I like about it! It does feel like a film with heart and not just a soulless remake. It had a lot to live up to given my love of the 1994 version but I was able to look past my love and nostalgia for Winona Ryders version. In some ways 2019 did things better than the 1994 version, Laurie and Amy for example was handled better. However I do feel overall that Winona Ryders version is a better made film. I would give Greta Gerwigs adaption an 7 ½- 8/10 though as I did really enjoy it.
Texts back and forth during the 2019 Greta Gerwig version watch for the first time. Our friend Laura also watched this with us.
Me: I love you! Sisters unite!!
Verity: 🥰
Me: Do you want to play the game we used to do where we would pick a sister to be?
Verity: Laura says she wants to be Amy, I want to be Jo, Who do you want to be? You can be Jo if you like and I can be Meh oh sorry I meant Meg!
Me: I’ll be Beth.
Verity: Don’t die though!
Me: I love her hair
Verity: Is Mum watching this with you?
Me: no I’ll let her know what I think (I rewatched this with mum the following week)
Verity: OK cool!
Mr Bhaer makes his first appearance
Me: You’re on fire, don’t think he looks right
Verity: Me neither
Amy appears
Me: Ooh nice artwork! Like her hat.
Verity: It’s a lovely outfit.
Me: Did they make Meryl Streep look older?
Verity: Yes, I think so.
Me: Timothee Chamalamadingdong!!!!!
Verity: YES 😂
Me: I find in interesting that they are doing the meetings backwards
Verity: Yes it’s very clever actually.
Meg appears
Me: The American Accent!!
Verity: you are savage, lots of slow mo.
At the party
Me: Oh no it’s not the ginger guy ( I’m talking about the fact that there is a ginger guy in the 1994 version and I always found his appearance funny)
Verity: Do you fancy Timothee Chamalamadingdong?
Me: No, but he seems like a sweetheart.
Verity: Like me.
Me: oh yes! Nice dance Them moves!!!! Laura Dern! I really like Laura Dern!
Another small appearance of Mr Bhear
Me: mum says Mr Bhaer is meant to be kind of like a bear.
Verity: Yes you’re right
Me: Florence Pugh has a deep voice
Verity: It’s lovely, I wish I had a deep voice.
Me: I think I have a nasally voice
Verity: I like your voice
Me: it’s very high pitched
Verity: I like it!
Me: Aw thank you!
Me: Ooh food!!!!!
Verity: We love ze food
Me: Saoirse looks a little like Laura Derne
Verity: I was just thinking that
Me: Similar facial structure? Limes, Ooh poodle!
Verity: A little poodle!!!
School Scene
Me: She looks too old next to those other girls
Verity: Yes, I think its because we’re meant to believe she’s a lot younger than she is
Me: I’m in such trouble
Verity: I have lovely small feet too. 🙃The best in the family.
Me: I like Timothee Chamalamadingdong but I think Christian Bale is my Laurie
Verity: Same but I think they’re both very good
Me: I will say that Timothee and Saoirse have a very sweet friendship, I’ve seen them in interviews together
Verity: Same.
Amy is a diva
Me: I never get to go anywhere! Sounds like me!
Verity: Yes!!! 😂
Me: Although I would never do that to you.
Verity: No you would never.
Me: That is way too far. I have heard that Florence Pugh gave Saoirse permission to hit her during this scene. I do think I am a bit of an amy. Im not good enough to be a Beth. I think I’m too much of a youngest child.
Verity: No you’re not. You’re very sweet and gentle. Also no one can be as good as Beth. Beth totally has social anxiety as well but they just didn’t have a name for it back then.
Me: I love you so much!
Verity: I love you so much too!
Me: I think its an interesting idea flitting backwards and forwards in time. I do like it, but I think it can be a little confusing. I prefer the linear approach.
Verity: I quite like it. It make it seem more modern and forward propulsion and shows how they all change. But linear makes more sense.
Meg at a Party
Me: I do like the lavender dress
Verity: He’s a bit shamey isn’t he
Me: Yes I do actually think we shouldn’t shame a woman for being traditionally feminine.
Verity: I totally agree with you!
Me: I’m very sick and you must do what I say!
Me: I’m enjoying
Verity: Good!
Me: You’re my fave person to watch a film with.
Verity: Same!
Me: Do you remember we used to put on plays together?
Verity: Yes, I’m sure you remember more than me, you always do. What do you remember?
Me: Do you remember A Christmas Caroling Evening? It was performed in front of mum, dad, granny and grandad. I was 8 and you were 11. Also Sleeping Ugly.
Verity: Yes I do 😂
Beth is ill
Me: I’m curious would symptoms start developing that quickly? Just read It take about 2-5 ays for symptoms to appear. The incubation period is between 1-7 days
Verity: Ah interesting!
Me: Must be awful the high likelihood of your child dying
Verity: Ooft!!
Me: 😭
Verity: 😭
Me: Just the mums face!
Laurie asks Jo to marry him
Me: I can understand the disappointment
Verity: Ooft yes! He does this bit very well.
Me: I remember as a little girl I always preferred Laurie to Mr Bhaer but as an adult I do understand that Laurie and Jo are not compatible
Verity: Yes. Also when he asks her she’s way too young
Me: Do you remember going around the house where Louisa may Alcott grew up when you were twelve and I was nine and someone asked was Laurie real? The tour guide said no and everyone looked so sad and disappointed! Then someone asked with a hint of desperation “was Mr Bhear real?” the tourguide said “he might have been” with a smile on her face.
Verity: Yes 😊
Me: Dad actually says he loved that day surrounded by women
Verity: that’s funny and cute!
Jo finds out Amy and Laurie are married.
Verity: I don’t think this happens in the book! That she regrets it and wants to go back on it.
Me: no
Verity: WIFE! What a shocker!
Verity: See this is where it doesn’t work for me. She should be missing Mr Bhaer. Otherwise it doesn’t work!!!!! RAGE!!!!!
Me: yes I get ya
Jo begins to write the book
Verity: In the 1994 version this bit is lovely. With all the echoey voices
Me: Yes I also love the for the beauty of the earth part
Verity: There should be a scene that shows she likes teaching with the kids in NY
Me: Yes I liked that it was cute
Verity: IT DOESN’T WORK IN THIS ADAPTION BECAUSE SHE’S BASICALLY FORGOTTEN HIM!! SHE GOES ALL WOOLY ABOUT LAURIE! AND THAT’S ALL WRONG!!!!!
Me : You’re right, I get ya point
Verity: And the significance with the piano there is that he’s replacing Beth for her?
Me: Yes.
People are telling Jo that she is in love with Frederich Bhaer
Verity: This is cheesy.
Me: Yes!! 😊 Oh my no
Verity: What’s oh my no?!
Me: I don’t Know !
Verity: This bit is very good though, framing it with how Louisa May ding dong felt.
Me: Yes. Louisa never married. She actually said something interesting “ I have lover many women and it has always been stronger than any relationship I’ve had with a man” or something like that.
Verity: ha hahaha love you paraphrasing as the end. Or something like that.
Me: Yes it was a quote on Wikipedia it might be false and it was several years ago when I heard that.
Verity: No I’ve heard something similar!
Me: OOOOH cake!!!!!
Verity: 😂
Me: I love the making of the book part. I do like Greta Gerwig
Verity: Me too.
THE END
Verity: What did you think?
Me: I thought most of the performance were good and I liked the feel of it. It didn’t really feel like I was just watching a remake film. I think it can stand on its own and I should try when watching it to not focus so much on my love and nostalgia for the 1994 version.
Verity: Good review
Me: I do think the film was Oscar nomination worthy. I’ll look up the competition for that year.
Verity: Yes I agree.
Me: The interesting quote from Louisa May Alcott is this,
“I’m more than half persuaded that I am mans soul put by some freak of nature in a woman’s body because I have fallen in love with many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man.”
Verity: Ah interesting! Makes sense.
Me: Little Women was nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay last year as well as best actress and best supporting actress. So it did get some nominations.
