My Review of Little Women (1994)

 

Written by Robin Sword

Directed by Gillian Armstrong

Jo: "Now we are all family, as we always should have been."

In some ways, I think this almost qualifies as a Christmas movie, right? It's mostly set during a winter time period. Except for the moments it's not and that ending of course.

To my surprise, while this might have been the first adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott book of the same name that I watched, it's actually the third movie adaptation. Also probably still the most iconic one too.

The titular women in question were the March sisters. There was aspiring writer, Jo (Winona Ryder), tender Beth (Claire Danes), the responsible Meg (Trini Alvarado) and youngest Amy (Samantha Mathis/Kirsten Dunst). The movie largely examines their lives as they all head into adulthood along with the support of their mother, Marmee (Susan Sarandon).

During the movie, we see each of the women try to find their own way in the world. However for Beth, it's more of a tragic outcome as she largely succumbed to illness. Beth's eventual passing was a genuine gut punch in the movie.

As for the rest of the women, the presence of one Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Christian Bale) impacted all of them. He was a potential suitor for Meg but was in love with Jo and she didn't reciprocate his feelings. However he ended up with Amy and even then, I found myself wondering if his feelings for her were true.

With Amy becoming the companion of Aunt March (Mary Wickes) and improving as an artist and Meg settling for a life with a nice husband in John Brooke (Eric Stoltz), it was Jo to have the adventures as a writer, find her voice as a creative and get a book published. There was even a romance with professor Friedrich Bhaer (Gabriel Byrne) that the movie does slightly speed through towards the end.

- This is the only adaptation to have two different actors for Amy. 

- There's a loose sequel of sorts called Little Men that came out in 1998.

- The closing credits had 19th century portraits of the March sisters, which was a nice touch. 

- Chronology: American Civil War based in Concord, Massachusetts. Lot of it during the winter with Christmas incorporated into the story.

Whether it counts as a Christmas movie or not, Little Women does make for something perfect to watch this time of year. It's a lovely story about sisters and the performances from everyone involved are top notch. 

Rating: 9 out of 10