Little Women

Little Women (2019)

I had little interest when it was announced that Greta Gerwig would be doing another version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I smelled Oscar Bait a mile off, particularly coming fresh off the awards triumph of Ladybird. I imagined Gerwig sat in the Dolby Theatre plotting; “if this Saoirse Ronan vehicle could be so favourably received then the sky’s the limit if you plonk her in a tried and tested, period piece fan favourite”. Cynical? Me?

Well set the dinner table because it’s time to eat my words.

Little Women Generation 4 is marvellous. It’s creative and fresh. Ronan is the best and most likeable I’ve seen her. Meryl is a hoot as she channels her inner Maggie Smith but the MVP goes to Florence Pugh. After turning my world upside down last year in Midsummar I shouldn’t be surprised. I can’t tell you why she’s good. She just has that thing. She’s effortless. Charismatic. Enigmatic. Emma Watson can only look on in envy whilst applying another coat of varnish to her already very wooden veneer. She delivers a brilliant speech which apparently was handed to her moments before the camera rolled, hastily scrawled on a bit of paper after Meryl suggested the character needed to explain a woman’s economic motives. What Meryl wants...

The chopping up of timelines is a little confusing at first but you quickly realise that the more orange the screen the further back in time you are.

Ronan bags her fourth nomination. Pugh gets her first. The film gets the nomination yet bizarrely the director doesn’t. I suspect she is being punished for her earlier nomination with Ladybird. Don’t get too big for your boots Gerwig. But as Ewan McGregor said on the red carpet when Moulin Rouge was nominated for Best Picture and Baz Luhrmann was snubbed for director: “Well it didn’t fucking direct itself”. No Ewan, it did not.

Watch this on a Saturday afternoon, with enough time after to do something about how inspired you will feel.

9 Little Thumbs Up!