Movie Review: Little Women

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“Little Women” is a film adaptation based on a novel of the same name authored by Louisa May Alcott. Having read the original book decades ago, I was, while watching the movie, intent on identifying details of which I still treasured vague memories. 


Understandably, to squeeze the substantial content into a two-hour film would mean the exclusion of some details. Nevertheless, quite a few reminiscences of the original story are recognizable. Jo’s remark “Christmas won’t be Christmas without presents” is actually the very sentence the novel begins with. There is then the touching scene of the four girls offering their breakfast to a poor family on Christmas Day. Another recallable detail is the sisterly rivalry developed between Jo and Amy; one related incident is Amy’s falling into the half-frozen pond because Jo has intentionally hidden from her the existence of the lurking danger. Of course, one won’t forget the old man seeking consolation from Beth’s playing on his late granddaughter’s piano. We remember also how Jo sells her hair, her only pride, for the sake of her father lying sick in the army hospital. The film is thus high on adherence to the original story. 


On the other hand, the director has updated the story and offered it to the audience in increments. There are some details new to the readers. I cannot, for example, quite remember Mag quarrelling with her husband about spending 50 dollars on a garment. My memory is only limited to the four sisters’ youthful struggles. Their marriages are probably described mainly in “Good Wives”, part 2 of “Little Women”. And definitely, Jo was not the author of “Little Women”, contrary to what is described at the end of the movie. 


The film draws attention to its orderly orchestration of the tale’s segments, using well-paced flashbacks and non-linear timelines. The initial shots may appear to be a set of puzzle pieces as the many characters involved and the seemingly scattered and unrelated incidents may cause confusion of thoughts. But as the story unfolds, the audience gradually find themselves drawn to Jo’s nostalgic memories and thus get a clearer picture of what has happened to the March family as the time elapses. With the use of different genres of music, the film guides the audience back and forth between the sisters’ teenage stage and their adolescent years. The upbeat background music enhances the setting for the interaction between the noisy, chatty and playful teenage girls. Conversely, the music will suddenly switch back to an unhurried and melancholy genre, setting the mood for Jo’s obsession about the troubled present. And coloration also plays a part in the effective use of flashbacks and flashforwards. The audience won’t fail to notice the implication of maturity in the various shades of blue chosen for the costumes. In stark contrast, the teenage girls are almost always dressed in natural, fresh and vibrant colours of green and beige. 


Where flashbacks are concerned, there is, too, a skillful presentation of a lapse of time between two related incidents. At one scene Amy is blaming Laurie for treating her as the second choice after Jo and then comes the scene where Jo turns down Laurie’s proposal. Likewise, immediately following the scene of Jo happily greeting Beth, who has just recovered from her scarlet fever, she is seen again rushing down the same staircase, this time only to find her mother crying sadly over Beth’s death. The use of such switch shots produces a very strong dramatic effect: the audience will always remember the traumatic loss the family suffers from. 


 The actors and actresses are also well chosen; Joe with her vitality and rebelliousness, Amy, the jealous and selfish girl, and Mag, the clothes-conscious lady all bring to mind the characters in the novel. The only exception, I am afraid, is that the actress playing the role of Beth is too plump to give the impression of a frail, sickish looking figure.


All in all, the innovative screen adaptation would satisfy both the novel’s loyalists and the first-timers and is, therefore, a good movie well worth our time.