Review of Little Women (2019) by Moviemitch96 — 25 Dec 2019

It's a timeless classic that most of us are at least fairly familiar with. Four young sisters come of age together in post-civil war New England, while also experiencing the ups and downs of marrying and falling in love.

This story has been adapted countless times (the last most notable one being from 1994 which starred Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, and Susan Sarandon to name a few.) However, I have to say that this just might be the best and most complete one yet! It contains all the spirit, charm, and joy that I'd expect from this story, along with heartfelt performances from all involved! Saoirse Ronan is perfect as Jo, and Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen are also endearing as Meg, Amy, and Beth respectively.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Laura Dern as Marmee, the legendary Meryl Streep as Aunt March, and Timothee Chalamet as Laurie, all of whom deliver reliably great and charming performances. There's plenty of emotion to be found here as well, ranging from fun and joyful, to tearful and tender.

As far as the story goes, it stays surprisingly close to the source material, even very close to the dialogue spoken in the novel. However, there were certain plot points I feel could've been developed a little more, most notably the relationship between Jo and Laurie, which seemed slightly forced and underdeveloped in this adaptation compared to other adaptations.

Overall, this really does feel like the most complete and fully realized adaptation of this story yet, with the exception of some slightly underdeveloped storylines.