Hello! Welcome to my blog about women directed films. For this week I have decided to talk about the 2019 adaptation of Little Women by Greta Gerwig. I personally believe it is Gerwig’s best film so far. I saw it four times in theaters when it was first released, and many times in the comfort of my own home. I had somehow never been introduced to the story before seeing this adaptation. It had a great impact on me when I saw it because I saw myself in all of the characters and I think the March sisters beautifully represent what it is to be a woman. This post will contain spoilers of Little Women.
First, I will address two main issues that some people have with the film. One of the issues people have is that the same actress, Florence Pugh, plays Amy when she is very young and when she is an adult. In the 1994 film version of Little Women, Kirsten Dunst plays young Amy and Samantha Mathis plays the older version of her. I understand why some people are put off by Florence Pugh playing a version of Amy who is much younger than Pugh in real life, but it didn’t affect my personal viewing experience. I think Pugh playing Amy for the entire movie connects the audience to the character more, you feel as if you have been with her on a journey. I feel that having two separate actresses play Amy disconnects the audience from said journey in a way.
I also think that Pugh’s performance stands out the most in this film. I had never seen her in a film before watching Little Women and she absolutely blew me away. I love how she interacts with Laurie and how you can see the heartbreak of not being his first choice until they become married. Pugh is also amazing in the scene where Amy decides to give up art and become “an ornament to society.” She is not really able to have hopes of becoming a great artist simply because she is a woman. Society at the time would never acknowledge her talents, so she decides to give them up. Laurie encourages Amy to continue to pursue art, and she ends up calling him out for not understanding the economics of being a woman. I have always thought this was a very powerful scene because it underscores that men will never understand women and they will never understand the sacrifices we make in order to fit into society.
The second issue that some people have with the 2019 version is that it does not tell the story in a linear way. It jumps back and forth between the March sisters when they are young and when they are older. I think this is a very interesting and powerful way to depict the March sisters, because the audience can see the direct parallels between the sisters’ lives at two different times.
I know I only spoke a little about the film overall but I hope this encourages you to watch it. It is packed with so many amazing performances and the score is wonderful as well. I think that everyone can see themselves in the March sisters and connect to this great story in some way.
Kate Goranson – Blog Editor & Prose Editor: Kate is a Junior majoring in English with a Literature/Language Concentration. She works at the Writing Center during the week and a banquet hall on the weekends. She has been playing violin since 5th grade and has also picked up guitar and singing. During her free time she likes to go to the movies with her friends, nap with her cat and thrift shop. Some of her favorite authors include Sally Rooney and Madeline Miller.