Little Women: Fills Big Shoes!

I think Greta Gerwig is a terrific director, and she does a wonderful job with this most recent adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 19th century novel of the same name. The March sisters (Jo – Saoirse Ronan, Meg – Emma Watson, Amy – Florence Pugh, and Beth – Eliza Scanlen) are all intelligent, talented women, raised in an era where women essentially were supposed to just get married and raise a family rather than try to do anything else.  Fortunately, their mother, Margaret (Laura Dern), encouraged them to follow their dreams.  Jo wants to be a novelist and her story is the main one of the film.  Amy wants to be an artist and Beth a pianist.  Meg isn't quite sure what she wants.  The sisters are loving and supportive of each other, although there is a mildly competitive rivalry between Jo and Amy. The sisters' story is a very interesting one (especially if you are like me and have never read the novel).  Gerwig re-creates the time and place well and the cinematography (Yorick Le Saux) is sumptuous, so I think it's best to see the movie on the BS.  My only complaint with the film is that Gerwig chooses to tell the story with numerous flashbacks, which I found not only confusing, but also unnecessary (although some critics liked this approach).  Ronan gives another AAW performance and the others in the cast are very good, too. Bottom Line: "Little Women" is a "Big-Time" period piece.