I have a confession to make about Lady Bird. Despite its placement on my top 10 films of 2017 (number 9 no less), I've found myself becoming less and less enthusiastic about it as time went by. I've found myself becoming more and more distanced from it, progressively becoming less able to enjoy its insights, and I'm not quite sure why. I definitely enjoyed it, but maybe something didn't quite resonate with it, because that level of love didn't last. So when I heard that Greta Gerwig was making an adaptation of Little Women, I was less than enthusiastic. I mean, I'm not hugely familiar with the story, and I was worried that, after Lady Bird, I wouldn't click with any of Gerwig's films on as personal a level as every one else seemed to. So yeah, safe to say I wasn't excited about this film. Not that I was expecting to hate it, because by all accounts it seemed to be a pretty prestige literary adaptation. I'm really happy about how much I really, really liked this film, and I'd go so far as to say it's what we need right now: warm, positive, PG-rated cinema that anyone can watch, understand and connect with. I think it's easy to get lost in edginess, to celebrate cynicism to the point where if something isn't being done with irony, it's somehow less. But this timeless tale of sisters in the Civil War (which I was still massively unfamiliar with as a story), proves once more that it never goes out of fashion, and a big part of why this works is its willingness to embrace the lightness of its story, to revel in its gentleness and work within that to explore what's really important.
Gerwig is working with a pre-established story, but she does a good job of ensuring that her approach feel new and exciting. It's undeniably a period piece (with some of the best costumes you're going to see all year), but the way she outlines the lives of these women and the society they're living in feels uniquely modern. It's a classic story with timely themes, and Gerwig excels because she remembers that, not trying to reinvent the wheel so much as restore it, and remind us why we need wheels in the first place. From the opening scene, it sets up two distinctly different timelines, bouncing between them to show the immediately likeable cast of characters before and after seven years of growth that feel genuine and real. There's an immediate lived-in likeability here, and within ten minutes it set up a world that I felt completely comfortable being in. I liked these characters, all of them, and I enjoyed spending time with them and following their various adventures.
A big part of that is the cast, and from what I can tell Gerwig has absolutely nailed the casting. Saoirse Ronan is ace as Jo, the headstrong, confident and immediately likeable pair of eyes through which we watch this story unfold. It's her world we're in, and Ronan's performance invites us in and makes our stay feel satisfying and enjoyable. Her brashness hides a vulnerability, and the way that's gradually revealed in a way that feels natural and genuine is maybe the film's strongest emotional nuance. Florence Pugh makes for a great Amy, again loveable right off the bat, with so much energy and charisma that it's impossible not to care about her. She's easily the most compelling character here, the one whose story is the most fun to follow, and even with the absolutely great year Pugh's had, this feels like a standout performance. She's consistently topping herself with each film she's in, and this feels like the perfect way to cap off a year that also contains excellent turns in Midsommar and Fighting With My Family. Timothée Chalamet is also fantastic as Laurie, imbuing his boy-nest-door with a really sincere feeling longing and charm. The sisters are undoubtedly at the centre of the story, but it's impossible not to feel for Laurie, and so much of that comes back to Chalamet, who brings the same kind of lovesick charm that made Call Me By Your Name absolutely sing
If those three are wonderfully strong, then it's a shame that the same kind of focus isn't given to Beth and Meg. Don't get me wrong, Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlon put in great performances, but given the film's primary focus on Jo, Amy and Laurie, they both feel like they're just kind of.... there. Beth's only real role in the film seems to be being generally meek and sick, and although that's utilised to heartbreaking effect in the third act, she also kind of feels like a plot device; making the other characters more interesting and just being defined by her sickness instead of feeling like an interesting character in spite of it. Meg is almost totally sidelined here, getting so little focus that she's kind of a hard character to talk about. Any of her defining character traits seem to be developed offscreen, and that's a real shame. In fairness, this is one of the film's only issues, and considering the characters it does focus on are handled so well, it's not too hard to forgive when another one falls by the wayside. The supporting cast is strong as well, Laura Dern and Chris Cooper in particular bringing real heart to their characters, doing what a good supporting role is supposed to do and fortifying the arcs of the leads. Cooper's magnificently warm turn gives Beth's character a little more nuance, and that kind of compensates for her general lack of development
But still, it's not a fun film to criticise, because at its best, it's got the kind of illuminating warmth that's so seldom seen in the cinema, not just now, but in general. It's so sweet, and good natured, with some timely twists that feel spiky without being a distraction. Jo's struggle to be taken seriously as a writer particularly resonates, as does Amy's discussion of marriage as an economic proposition. Those underpinnings are written into the utterly delightful world of the story in a way that's deft and clever, but it can't be understated just how lovely this is. The sense of warmth and love here is so nourishing and pleasant, and the focus on family, on units of people that share highs and lows and have so much love for each other is so, so wonderful. It really is a story of sisters, of their ups and downs, but more specifically of their bond, and that's so damn sincere, so real feeling and jam-packed with love and warmth, that it's just such a privilege to spend this film with them. I spent so much of this film grinning like an idiot, just basking in how cheerful and lovely it is. Even in its tougher moments, the focus on love and unity and sticking together in hard times is done in such a natural, genuine way, and although it's drawing from a well-known story, it really resonates. I knew nothing about the actual story of Little Women, and so when the film drifts into tearjerker territory, I was genuinely affected by it. I won't spoil it just in case you're a Little Women novice like I once was, but for something that's probably fairly well telegraphed if you know the book, the big thing that happens really does resonate, treated with gravity and sensitivity, without ever sugarcoating it. There's pain in this film, but Gerwig's smartest turn is bringing the film in a direction that never feels defined by it, instead making an argument for togetherness and growth, and that's where it becomes really good.
So yeah, a film that I was very not excited for turns out to be a little slice of joy, a piece of genuine, immediately accessible cinematic wonder that really establishes Gerwig as the real deal for me. It feels a little bit more real than Lady Bird, for me anyway. Even letting this sit, the warmth and the magic doesn't fade in the way that it did with her first film. I still smile when I think of this, because the gentle, sensitive approach the oft-told story is just so.... nice. And sometimes that's okay. It rejects the idea that cynicism makes for better cinema, instead focusing on the love of the world and making a case for why it's important. This is why this story is told so often, because it matters, and reviving it for a new generation is less an exploitation of the source material and more a reminder that love, and family are what truly matter. There's palpable joy in a secret dance on a porch, heartache in a beach-set story for an ailing sister, and glee in the return of the missing piece of a tightly-knit unit. Gerwig renders each moment with refreshing authenticity, putting a new spin on this classic in a way that's truly cinematic. It was such a delight, and it just gets better the more I think about it.
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