It’s a curious thing not having knowledge of a franchise. Yes, Little Women at this point is a franchise with the original book, eight film adaptations, six stage adaptations, nine tv adaptations, and countless more interpretations across various entertainment mediums. And yet, with the exception of a quick perusal of the characters on Wikipedia, yours truly has somehow managed to not see a single one. How I do not know, but it made for an interesting viewing experience knowing that Greta Gerwig had much at her back and nipping at her heels in terms of expectations.
Even without the knowledge of the previous adaptations, it is not hard to see where Gerwig made her big changes. The story is told non-linearly, starting us off in the future before flashing back and forth to the past. This approach is smart in a way, many people are already familiar with the story, they’ll be able to pin the pieces together in their mind, perhaps see the tale anew. I don’t know much about Jo March but by the time Saorise Ronan gets to tear into her big monologue about loneliness, I felt I had known her my whole life. Gerwig also beefs up the role of Amy, and Florence Pugh takes the added material and dives in wholeheartedly.
Spoilers below if you’re one of the few like me who don’t know the tale.
The thing about changes is that they can be done with the correct intent and still manage to not land the whole way. True, I was emotionally invested but the structure kept pulling me out. It’s one thing to trust that your audience isn’t stupid but if you remove key points from the story because everyone has seen it before, you’re not doing your job in the film. This specifically revolves around characters not named Jo March. Amy, while beefed up and modernized, is missing some key scenes that would make her later desires for Laurie (a wonderful Timothee Chalamet) more founded. As much as I enjoyed her striving to marry rich, I never at any point in her young life got the impression she had a crush on Laurie. Sure there’s the book burning scene, but that can be wrapped up in childhood pettiness. When your movie is going to hinge on the shock of Laurie and Amy being wed, specifically after we’ve watched Jo melt down and write a letter to him, there needed to be more there there.
Speaking of a lack of there there, poor Emma Watson. Her Meg has a really interesting story on face value but the story doesn’t get to really dig into her interior life. Which is a shame, because I felt Meg’s desire to know and want fancy things only to fall in love with a man who doesn’t have much is very interesting! But what good does interesting do me, if we barely spend time with her and everyone else gets a much more epic Laurie moment. It’s in the moments we spend with Meg where Gerwig’s changes strain against what you can do with a text and still maintain its effectiveness.
Even with these issues though, Little Women is a well composed story and I’m sure this eighth adaptation will prove a fine watch for both new to the tale and true to the tale alike.