Little Women (2019)

Little Women: Directed by Greta Gerwig. With Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen. Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms.

“Lady Bird was great back in 2017, and on a recent rewatch, was somehow even better. A great directorial debut is always going to build anticipation for a follow-up effort, and thankfully, writer-director Greta Gerwig has hit it out of the park again, although with a very different effort that truly establishes her and her debut film as much more than a one-off or fluke.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMake no mistake though- despite being of a similar quality, this is a very different film to Lady Bird. It shares some cast members, and the editing style is similar at times too… I guess theyu0026#39;re also concerned with young characters, but this oneu0026#39;s set a century and a half earlier and is generally a more serious affair.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eComing into this, I was not familiar with the source material, nor am I much of a fan of period dramas. I was sceptical Iu0026#39;d like this, despite really enjoying Lady Bird and seeing how great the reviews for this were. So I was pleasantly surprised by how moving, entertaining, and beautifully shot this ended up being.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost of the performances are absolutely fantastic. Wouldnu0026#39;t be surprised to see nominations for both Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh (whou0026#39;s has a fantastic year considering how good she also was in Midsommar). Emma Watson is perhaps less impressive, but sheu0026#39;s far from bad, and her character is one thatu0026#39;s perhaps more reserved and less emotional, the story providing less opportunities for more outward, showy acting, so I suppose in that way sheu0026#39;s still quite good too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI understand the non-linear editing here isnu0026#39;t present in the original novel, and I really loved it here. Itu0026#39;s compelling and punctuates the emotional depth of many scenes, as theyu0026#39;re contrasted and compared in interesting way with similar or different scenes, appearing in the past or future. Itu0026#39;s never confusing either, largely thanks to a noticeable but not garish use of saturation for past scenes and non-saturated colours in the u0026quot;presentu0026quot; scenes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe only way I can fault the movie isnu0026#39;t even really a criticism- itu0026#39;s me not loving this genre, and therefore occasionally feeling slightly unengaged and not always terribly interested. Like I said, I usually avoid period dramas for this reason. Olden day problems, frustratingly repressed characters, snotty, upper-class characters, trivial squabbles and issues…. thankfully, none of those things are really present here. By the time the film finished, I felt good inside, and surprisingly moved, not at all regretting the two and a bit hours Iu0026#39;d spent in the cinema.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAn 8/10 may seem low, but if I got a lot out of this movie, the people who are usually more interested in this sort of genre are likely going to absolutely love it. With this and Lady Bird under her belt, all I can say is that I canu0026#39;t wait to see what Gerwig makes next.”