Little Women: Movie Review

This movie is important and a must-watch for all. After all, we do get a sense of achievement and happiness when we see women break free from the traditional bindings of society, achieve what they want, and live their lives according to their terms.

The 2019 movie ‘Little Women’ is the seventh movie adaptation of the classic English novel by the same name written by Louisa May Alcott. Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig, the movie – Little Women, like the novel, tells the story of four sisters, the March sister,  in the medieval United States, and their struggles of growing up and entering adulthood. 

This film has received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score, and won for Best Costume Design. And all are overly deserving as the movie is excellent. 

But what I am trying to analyze today is how important this story is in terms of feminism. This movie makes a better impact as it has twisted a bit of the story from the original novel and is told in a non-linear manner. Jo March, who is the protagonist of this story is a free-spirited, and ambitious woman who does not want the goal of her life to be falling in love and getting married. She wants to be a writer and that is what she becomes in the end, and that is shown as the end goal. 

[SPOILERS AHEAD] By showing the ending where Jo gets engaged to Professor Friedrich Bhaer as a possible ending that Jo gives to her novel, makes this screenplay even more brilliant. This way the audience who wants to see the original ending of the book, and those who are hopeless romantics do get their so-called ‘happy ending’. But there will be a part of the audience who will always be rooting for Jo to not get married, and be the successful writer and free woman that she always wanted to be. By the double ending, the writer-director Greta Gerwig is satisfying both the audience. 

Honestly, it is such an achievement to make the reader root for the main lead to not fall in love and get married. Because falling in love is the quintessential ending to almost all the stories about women. Even the original novel ends like that. But taking away that part from the movie and giving it as just an option of an ending, elevates the story immensely. 

At the same time, they are not showing that getting married is a bad thing. The two other sisters of Jo, Meg and Amy do get married, and Meg chooses love over money and stands by her decision even when she is struggling for money. 

We are shown all types of women through the four March sisters. Each of them has rebellious freedom in their own way. This movie is important and a must-watch for all. After all, we do get a sense of achievement and happiness when we see women break free from the traditional bindings of society, achieve what they want, and live their lives according to their terms. So if you have not watched this, add this to your watch list. Because this is such a wonderful tale to miss.

-Staff Reporter