Director Greta Gerwigs new version of Louisa May Alcotts beloved novel Little Women is an engaging and tender success.

The latest adaptation is vividly and delicately produced, and its very faithful and equally modern in its accession of the novel. Gerwig gives the classic the kind of attention and visual style that is different from the TV versions and the blissful movie versions from 1933, 1949 and 1994. The new variation has splendid aesthetics, sweeping emotions and a first-rate ensemble cast, led by the dynamic Saoirse Ronan, who at 25, continues to prove she is one of the greatest acting talents of our time.

Alcott wrote a very personal novel, and like all deeply personal tales, its based on social realism and other emotional truths about female empowerment, cultural norms and inherit conformity that have remained in society for many generations. The classic story is always worth revisiting, and, over the decades, Alcotts portrayal of Josephine Jo March and her sistershas been an inspiration of many other films. Indeed, Little Women is such a renowned and celebrated work that it comes to no bewilderment that the story remains relevant today.

With this big-screen adaptation, Gerwig and her colleagues' main intent is portraying a fresh and inventive new perspective that consists of fresh social commentary, a clever flashback structure and a meta spirit that still holds the original story's charm and wit.

Gerwig never allows the material to get schmaltzy, yet her retelling shimmers with great empathy, deep characterizations and sharp whimsy along with many other conflicting tones that reside within a family.

By utilizing a clunky flashback structure that serves more as reflections to the story rather than a gimmicky device, the reflections examine Josephine Jo March (Ronan) reminiscing the events that led to her encounter with Theodore Laurie Laurence (Timothee Chalamet), his wealthy grandfather Mr. Laurence (Chris Cooper), and his instructor, John Brooke (James Norton) an encounter that would change the circumstances and lives of Jo and her sisters.

The saga opens up with Jo March living in a boarding house in New York City during the aftermath of the Civil War. She is trying to support her struggling family back in Concord, Mass. by selling written stories to publisher Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts). With social and cultural norms, publishing stories by women is very uncommon. Jos independence becomes an economic burden due to her refusal of marriage, while her older sister Meg (Emma Watson) and younger sisters Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) attempt to discover their own talents and passions.

The films flashbacks take place in Concord during the Civil War; Jo writes her own journal entries, Meg aspires to be a stage actress, Amy yearns to be a painter and Beth holds great talents with the piano. Their mother Marmee (Laura Dern) takes care of the family with the help of their housekeeper Hannah (Jayne Houdyshell), but sadly Marmees resources stretch thin after helping her community out. Jo also holds a bittersweet relationship to her Aunt March (Meryl Streep), as she routinely visits and reads to her as Aunt March continues to lecture Jo on the importance of finding love and getting married for status and economic reasons. Aunt March also keeps promising Jo that she will take her to her next trip to Europe which becomes a broken promise.

During a night out dancing, Meg twists her ankle while dancing with Laurie. He ends up taking her back to the March household, where he encounters Jo, and they are instantly drawn to each other. Meanwhile, Amy develops a crush on Laurie that ends up generating tension and jealousy between her and Jo. This also leads the Marches to get acquainted with the Laurence family, which leads to both families bonding together during the course of time.

Throughout the film, Gerwig cuts between the two times lines, which can become a challenging burden for new viewers of the story that arent too acquainted with the source material. The structure also sometimes reveals too much of what will happen in the future. Yet, during the past times of the film, it works well with the girls character arcs and depth.

One of the film's richest scenes involves Jo being criticized by a literature professor and critic Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel), who acknowledges Jos great talents, yet believes it is lacking something personal. While the flashbacks may come off jarring and not always successful, it is commanding in just how ambitious and unique Gerwig has accomplished with her adaptation.

The craftsmanship of the film is also visually arresting, as Gerwig and cinematographer Yorkick Le Saux imbue stark atmosphere merged with darkness and light along with stunning landscape cinematography.

What indeed works here are the performances and superb ensemble casting. Ronan and Chamalat are absolutely wonderful together in this just as they were in Gerwigs 2017 directorial debut Lady Bird." Ronan brings great charm and warmth throughout, delivering one of her most compelling performances to date. Chalamet also delivers a natural and witty performance that starts off charming and shortly becomes complex and wounded.

Its Florence Pugh who is the true stand-out here as the bratty Amy. Pugh truly elevates her character under Gerwigs direction, capturing Amy's self-absorbed sensibilities and selfishness that ends up being transcended with far more character depth and nuance than previous adaptations.

All around, Gerwig delivers an eloquent and layered film, full of absolute grace and grandeur. It merges personal truths relating to her own career as a film director that also echoes Alcotts own story.

Little Women becomes a deeply complex film about sisterhood, independence, individualism and unrequited love. It is a film about young women attempting to sort themselves out in a society that embraces women getting married and starting a family rather than pursuing their true passions and dreams. Gerwigs film is an absolutely delightful film filled with a lot of idealism about staying true to your passion and talents.

Rating: 3.5 of 4 stars

Robert Butler is an award-winning filmmaker from Ortonville whose most recent feature length movie, "Love Immortal," won Best Horror Feature Film at the 24th annual Indie Gathering International Film Festival. For more of his reviews, visitdefactofilmreviews.com.

See the original post here:

Review: 'Little Women' is an absolutely delightful film about being true to oneself - The Oakland Press