Little Women

Fresh, playful, at times extremely conversational, but improvisationally well played. The casting is superb (Ronan, Watson, Pugh). It's hard to say how faithful it is to the source material, or rather to the original film, but it meets the contemporary demands of a historical conversational drama with family values and ingredients in the form of relationships and life turning points and decisions very well. Perhaps the only bigger problem is with the flashbacks, which the director puts there quite unsparingly. It takes a while to get your bearings. (07/06/2020)

This film’s greatest asset is the excellent casting of young, talented actresses who don’t yet cost as much as Scarlett Johansson, but can achieve at least the same girl-power when they work as a team. And, representing the older generation, Laura Dern and Meryl complement them nicely. It is literally a pleasure to watch all of these young ladies enjoying their characters and the beloved “girlish” material. They are just glad that they can be a part of it. I suppose Greta Gerwig also deserves credit for that, as she loves actors and has a talent for this kind of emotional storytelling. I actually dreaded it, and thus I was touched by it all the more. This is pure cinematic romanticism with an open heart. The chronological jumps in the story were confusing in places, but that didn’t have any effect on the emotional experience. Supporting actor Tracy Letts has had a great year, with his portrayal of a book publisher here to go along with the glowing role of Henry Ford II in Ford v Ferrari. (02/02/2020)

The 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel impressed me a little more than this movie directed by Greta Gerwig. Nevertheless, I cannot deny the movie's impressive portrayal of the atmosphere of a bygone era, its excellent cast and the acting performances. The costume design is also undoubtedly praiseworthy. But to be honest, I don't really understand the source of the general fascination with this romantic story, which I always found rather boring. (65%) (15/04/2023)

Greta Gerwig is a truly amazing narrator. Though the division of the plot into emotionally connected episodes prevented me from living the story of the characters as intensively and clearly as I would have wanted given the scope and the protagonists, it is actually thanks to that episodic arrangement and the time jumps that this intellectually demanding material never gets boring or suffers from narrative sterility. I must admit that at least once I didn’t know whom they were talking about, but otherwise I was thrilled with the natural heroines and their personal vicissitudes, the tasteful humour, the always brilliant Alexandre Desplat and the precise direction, which perfectly leads not only the actors, but also the tempo and the changes in character and motivational perspectives. And this is not about men as evil rulers of the world, it’s about the desire for self-expression in a world where men have the last word and are as indispensable as their own dreams and families. A funny and distinctive script, a wonderful Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh. 85% (14/03/2020)

I'll be honest, I was expecting a movie that might change my life. But even though I thought it was a nice flick and I liked the girls, it didn't happen. There is no need to debate the performances, they are so natural and convincing that I completely forgot about all the actresses' previous roles and for a while I just saw them as Little Women. Slightly less perfect, in my opinion, was the script. It made it difficult for me to orient myself in time, so I gave up after a while and instead of enjoying the story I just enjoyed watching the atmosphere, the costumes, and basically a female world where the male element intrudes a little less than we’re used to. (26/12/2021)