Little Women is the rare kind of book to film adaptation. It feels as if it should’ve always existed, as if it was always there just waiting to be made by this director with this cast at this time. Each scene is so filled to the brim with heart and emotion, that it’s difficult to not find yourself at the mercies of the score and story and dare I say it: tear up once or twice (or several times). To me, it seems to have all the sentimentality of a hallmark film, but without the forced plots or fake characters. Instead, this film is something so achingly real and authentic, filled with character’s overlapping dialogue in a perfect chaos that often reflects reality (with every overlap precisely scripted by Greta Gerwig). The film’s script also takes a radical but smart approach to the structure of the film, intercutting the young March girls with their older, adult selves. Gerwig, who grew up reading about the March sisters her whole life was able to communicate the more challenging and repetitive aspects of the book through this method, and added another incredible layer of depth to the film, by comparing 4 young girls against their 4 older selves, essentially balancing 8 different characters who remain connected throughout the years, as if time could not stop their bond and connection. It’s a beautiful strategy for the film, and I think it truly adds something to the experience.
After her directorial debut Lady Bird, there was many who thought that Greta Gerwig’s sophomore feature could not top such an incredible achievement with her first film, but I genuinely think Little Women actually does. Reuniting Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet on screen again, this film captures that same irresistible chemistry they shared in Lady Bird, but this time in an even more compelling and challenging way. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the film is how perfectly we understand why the sisters love each other as they do. We see it so clearly on screen. It’s there. An unspoken connection that can’t be faked and must be presented honestly, and it is. It seems as if this story was the perfect film for Greta Gerwig to adapt, and her love of the source material is so evident. It’s clear that her sensibilities and skills as a director breathes a fresh outpouring of love and warmth into this story that makes it the most emotionally engaging film of the year for me. When I see it I think, “of course, how could it be any other way.” Greta Gerwig, you’ve done it again.