Greta Gerwig’s Little Women opens in 1868 with Jo March in New York City, selling a short story to an editor named Mr. Dashwood. Little Women premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on December 7, 2019, and Sony released it in U.S. theaters on December 25 through its Columbia Pictures label. It runs 135 minutes. It is the seventh film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel.
Trailer, via Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Jo March Sells a Story
Gerwig wrote the screenplay and directed. The film moves between two timelines. In 1861, Jo meets Laurie at a party. In 1868, Amy is in Paris with Aunt March, angry at Laurie’s drunken behavior at a party, while Beth’s illness worsens back in Concord, Massachusetts.
Saoirse Ronan plays Jo. Florence Pugh plays Amy. Emma Watson plays Meg, Eliza Scanlen plays Beth, Laura Dern plays Marmee, and Timothée Chalamet plays Laurie. Bob Odenkirk appears as Father March, Tracy Letts as Mr. Dashwood, Chris Cooper as Mr. Laurence, and Meryl Streep is in the cast.
The Breakfast Scene and the Frozen Lake
On Christmas morning, Marmee persuades her daughters to give their breakfast to their poor neighbors, Mrs. Hummel and her children. They return home to find their table laden with food, sent by Mr. Laurence.
A jealous Amy burns Jo’s unpublished novel. The next morning, Amy chases Jo and Laurie onto a frozen lake, falls through the ice, and is saved by Laurie and Jo. Jo regularly reads to her father’s sister, Aunt March, hoping she will be invited to Europe.
Own your story.
Two Timelines, One Argument
| Timeline | Setting | Central March sister |
|---|---|---|
| 1861 | Concord, Massachusetts | Jo, Meg, Beth, Amy at home |
| 1868 | New York City and Paris | Jo working, Amy abroad |
Meg expresses unhappiness about being poor to John Brooke, after buying fabric they cannot afford. Mr. Laurence invites Beth to play his late daughter’s piano in his house. Marmee reads a letter from their father, who is fighting in the American Civil War.
Ronan and Pugh Carry the Load
The source material gives Amy the harder arc: she burns a manuscript, she travels, she is courted by the wealthy Fred Vaughn, and Laurie visits her to apologize and urges her not to marry Fred but to marry him.
Chalamet’s Laurie is a neighbor who becomes a romantic problem. Dern’s Marmee is the girls’ mother. Scanlen’s Beth is the youngest sister whose illness drives Jo home from New York. Jo is hurt and angry when Friedrich Bhaer, a German professor who lives at her boarding house, gives critical feedback on her writing.
How the Film Was Made
The 2019 Little Women grossed $218 million worldwide and drew six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Ronan.
Sony Pictures initiated development of the film in 2013. Amy Pascal came on board to produce in 2015, and Gerwig was hired to write the screenplay the following year. Gerwig wrote the script in 2018 using Alcott’s other writings as inspiration, and she was made director that same year. It was the second film she had solely directed.
Filming took place from October to December 2018 in Massachusetts, with editing commencing the day after filming wrapped. Louis Garrel plays Friedrich Bhaer, James Norton plays John Brooke, and Jayne Houdyshell plays Hannah.
What Gerwig Gets Right
Gerwig’s script treats the two timelines as a structural choice, and the cast — Ronan, Pugh, Watson, Scanlen, Dern, Chalamet — fills out the March household. The film received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Gerwig’s screenplay and direction as well as the performances of the cast.
The film is a drama and a romance.
Score: 9.1 of 10 (Metacritic 91/100).
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