Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan and Eliza Scanlen in “Little Women.” credit: Sony Pictures
Like most American men, I must confess to this being my first survey of Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1860s-set American novel, Little Women (USA, 2019), in print or film, but Greta Gerwig’s rigorous and resourceful filmed adaptation is richly observed and profoundly universal. The four March sisters are starting their lives from four distinct perspectives, but their sense of charity, tolerance, self-possession, propriety and graciousness is foundational, whether it’s being indulged, expressed, critiqued or outrightly rebelled against.
We meet Jo March (Saoirse Ronan, fiercely engaging), teaching in New York, where she delivers a short story she’s written to the publisher Dashwood (Tracy Letts); not content to rely on the world of men to determine her fate, she’s hoping to start her own independent career as a writer. Meg (Emma Watson), on the other hand, looks forward to marriage, children and domestic life in hometown Concord, and has married the poor but honest John Brooke (James Norton) – they have two girls themselves. Our introduction to Amy (Florence Pugh) occurs in Paris, where she’s studying art and keeping company with her rich Aunt March (Meryl Streep). The youngest, Beth (Eliza Scanlen), is a reserved homebody (but still open and friendly) who’s happy to stay in and help around the house. She’s also the musician of the house – all of them play piano, but she most avidly.
We’re not too far into the film when we get the intertitle “7 Years Earlier,” and we launch into that earlier timeline just as enthusiastically as what’s preceded. Personalities, events and revelations start to connect and criss-cross, and Gerwig even uses the time structure to cheat the narrative a bit here and there. We’re in Concord, then back in New York, now we’re in Paris; we meet other characters who coexist in all three places and timelines, most notably Teddy Lawrence, aka “Lauri” (Timothée Chalamet, very good here), their young neighbor in Concord with a reputation for self-centeredness, but a seasoned heartbreaker’s wit, charm and appetites. He lives with his grandfather (the reliable Chris Cooper), a wealthy but generous widower who has also lost a daughter. Lauri is a contender for Jo’s affections, as well as Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel), another teacher/professor in Jo’s New York boarding house. (The casting overall is wonderful.)
Gerwig’s directing (and writing) chops are undeniable – I’m baffled by Todd Phillip’s directing nomination over hers. Yorick Le Saux’s photography is excellent, and gorgeous, as always, but Gerwig clearly controls the visual narrative with a firm hand, employing an impressive command of composition, camera movement and even some subtle-but-effective slow-motion. The camera is in almost constant motion, but always motivated, always purposeful. I’ve found most of the films this year about twenty minutes overlong – this one feels just right at 135 minutes.
The top six are honestly interchangeable – it’s as solid a card of contenders as we’ve had for Best Picture in quite a few years. Odds-wise, I’d put Little Women midpack with Marriage Story, Parasite (not likely for Best Picture) or The Irishman, but I honestly have to say this was my personal number 2. It’s superb work.
Periscope In The Bathtub 