Little Women (2019), directed by Greta Gerwig

After several film and TV adaptations, did we really need yet another interpretation of Little Women? It turns out we did. This adaptation is faithful to the main events of the book but presents them in a different way, which for the most part works very well. The film moves back and forth in time over seven or eight years, comparing and contrasting different events and feelings in the lives of the March girls. There are a couple of glitches in the timeline, but it’s a minor quibble. The cast is outstanding, with Saoirse Ronin bringing out Jo’s passion and frustration at the lot of a girl in the 19th century and Florence Pugh portraying Amy as a brat who grows into a classy woman. It is a little odd that in this classic American tale, none of the four girls is played by an American. Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen were interesting choices for Meg and Beth, but the four actors work well as an ensemble of believable sisters who fight hard but always have each other’s backs. Laura Dern makes a fine Marmee and Meryl Streep is a hoot as Aunt March. The details of period costumes and buildings are meticulous and the cinematography makes the most of the gorgeous New England setting. Gerwig’s screenplay makes the implied feminism of the novels more explicit, with well-made points about the economics of marriage and women’s limited choices. There is a slight blurring of identities at the end, with the book Little Women accredited to JL March, but this seems appropriate given the wide acknowledgement that Louisa May Alcott’s novel was heavily autobiographical.