Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Little Women (2019)

 

Little Women is a 2019 adaptation of the book(s) of the same name by Louisa Marie Alcott, written shortly after the American Civil War. It was a semi-autobiographical novel about her experiences growing up with her sisters and becoming a writer at a time when it was taboo for a woman to write anything but letters. There was, of course, a film adaptation done in 1994 starring Wynona Ryder, but this is a modern, alternative adaptation of the story with new actresses in the starring roles, including Saoirse Ronan (playing Jo, who was the character analog of Louisa), Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern (playing the matriarch of the family). The rest of the cast includes Meryl Steep, Timothee Chalamet, Louis Garrel, Bob Odenkirk, and Chris Cooper.

The movie was written and directed by Greta Gerwig. She decided to start the film with the women as adults and then use parts from the first novel, when they were girls growing up in New England, as flashbacks. For those unfamiliar with the story, this storytelling method can make the movie hard to follow since the book starts with the girls as children. That said, the film does not deserve one star like some Amazon reviewers have given it because the acting, the cinematography, and the overall story are all excellent.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in high-definition. There are about an hour's worth of extras, give or take, including several behind-the-scenes featurettes and a feature on the Alcott house, which has been preserved and saved multiple times from being torn down. A decent amount of material for those who like going through the bonus features. While it would have been better to tell the story linearly, it is still a very good and extremely well-acted adaptation of the story. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.