Little Women (2019), directed by Greta Gerwig, stars an impress cast of Soairse Ronan (Jo), Emma Watson (Meg), Florence Pugh (Amy), Eliza Scanlen (Beth), and Timothée Chalamet (Laurie). It’s a beautiful film adaptation of one of my childhood books.
With my knowledge of the original story, I think this film does it a great justice in capturing the essence of the loving chaos between the sisters, their own individuality, and Jo’s struggle to balance her own desires for independence with a love for the people around her. I particularly like the style of dialogue implemented, leaving a strange silence in the absence of the girls.
In truth, I really loved this film. However… I was not a fan of the ending at all. All through the film, there’s this consistent idea that although Jo has a lot of love for everyone around her, she’s not romantically inclined – even with the establishing of her perfect match in Laurie. She’s portrayed as aromantic. As such, it was incredibly frustrating to see her have a last-minute romantic surge which wasn’t built up at all.
It’s important to come to a satisfying resolution at the end of a story – be it good or bad, or something in between. Following the great amount of establishing of the bond between Jo and Laurie, and lack of anything between Amy and Laurie; it was incredibly dissatisfying to see Amy and Laurie end up married, instead of the QPR (queer-platonic relationship) between Jo and Laurie that their storylines seemed headed towards.
I appreciate that they tried to imply that the romantic resolution between Jo and Friedrich was just the romantic ending to the story that social attitudes at the time wanted, and pushed upon the writer – I did greatly enjoy the meta feel of those scenes. And if the film had simply ended after the scene with Jo talking to the publisher about including a romantic ending, I would’ve been satisfied. But it didn’t, and I think that was its biggest mistake. The happy-go-lucky end scene with the whole family in Jo’s school, for me and my friends at least, undid the purpose of the scene with the publisher – implying that the romantic resolution was actually real.
All in all, though, I did very much enjoy this film and have recommended it to other friends. Despite its flaws, it was a work of art and an incredible experience.
(This was my film for 03/01/2020, just written up late)
365 Films 