Little Women reviews

Sabin
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Re: Little Women reviews

Post by Sabin »

dws1982 wrote
I think this makes a pretty big error in the last 10-15 minutes by cutting back to the Tracy Letts character and Jo's negotiations with him. Of course, pairing Jo off with a man at the end of Little Women was, in large part, a convention dictated by commercial realities of 19th-century fiction. But I don't think Gerwig needed to highlight it so bluntly and use it to undercut the scene where Jo went to the train station to find Professor Bhaer. At that the point, the audience is so invested in the story and the characters that the ending of the film would've stood on its own with no trouble. I get that the central question is not who Jo is going to marry, but who she's going to be, but some of those final scenes were rather inelegant after the rest of the film was, in my mind, so elegant and so perfectly modulated.
I had the opposite reaction. I loved the ending.

I should be honest. Somehow I've never seen or read Little Women. My experience watching this film felt removed a bit. If I had one wish, it was if Gerwig had included a scene of them altogether at the very beginning prefacing the outstanding shot of Jo before the Publisher's door. Because I had yet to understand who they were as a group. Beginning the film with them as adults and a bit separate felt a bit alien to the themes. It took them through the first act to show them all together and establish their group personality. I love the first shot but I hated that choice. It removed me from the film from the get go. I say this knowing full well I'm likely the only person who hasn't seen or read Little Women but if indeed this is a Little Women for a new generation I think the criticism stands.

But I worked overtime to move past this hurdle to get into the film. I still felt a bit distanced from the film overall. I'm thrilled that it's performing so well at the box office because it's such a thoughtful, gorgeous film that truly wants us to understand these characters. My sister who has experienced Little Women throughout her life was on cloud nine. She's never loved it so much. Little moments that don't make terribly much sense in previous iterations were brought to life. Beth's death on the other hand didn't really seem to make much of an impact emotionally. I loved much of what Gerwig was doing but I do think the emotionally through-line of the film got a bit lost. I also wish dearly the casting of Tracy Letts and Bob Oedenkirk were swapped.

The ending was a home run for me. I think audiences are going to love it and I think they'll be right to. It's one of the reasons my sister remains on cloud nine.

So, I'm of muted enthusiasm. It's a thing I felt exhilarated about even as I felt on the outside.

I don't think it will be up for Best Picture but the box office will boost its chances. (NOTE: Yeah, I'm probably wrong on this one)
Last edited by Sabin on Tue Jan 07, 2020 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dws1982
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Re: Little Women reviews

Post by dws1982 »

As odd as it may seem for a movie that's been adapted into nearly a dozen films or TV miniseries, there are some slight spoilers below, so be forewarned:

Up until the last 10-15 minutes, I was fully prepared to declare this the movie of the year. I liked Lady Bird a lot, but I think this was not just a natural progression but also a big step forward. I think it deepens and enhances the Little Women story in fascinating ways; Gerwig's structural choice frames much of the film as a memory piece. Visually I think it's a huge leap forward: It cuts back and forth between timelines quite a bit, but she does so in visually interesting ways; some individual shots are just excellent (I'm thinking especially of the shot of Jo and Beth on the beach, as the wind gently blows sand up in the air). Much like Lady Bird, nearly every character is so fully- and sympathetically-formed that you could imagine Gerwig centering an equally-fascinating movie on them. And the cast, as a whole, is excellent, easily the ensemble of the year from what I've seen. (Insane that this didn't get the SAG ensemble nomination, especially since it was reportedly one of the first films screened for SAG.) I don't think that Mr. Lawrence has ever registered very strongly in a previous adaptation, but Chris Cooper is excellent--I can't remember him ever being this moving. The Chalamet Oscar buzz from last year would've been much more deservingly-placed on this performance, and I think he Florence Pugh buzz is justified this year because Amy is so much stronger and fuller as a character than she is in any other adaptation. Gerwig definitely deserves a lot of credit for that, but Pugh really is excellent--she's less bratty in her younger scenes than trying to understand and be understood; she genuinely grows up and becomes a complex character. In the 1994 version, when she showed up married to Laurie, it didn't make a lot of sense, but that relationship is given a lot of attention and care here, and it really rings as believable thanks in large part to Chalamet and Pugh.

I think this makes a pretty big error in the last 10-15 minutes by cutting back to the Tracy Letts character and Jo's negotiations with him. Of course, pairing Jo off with a man at the end of Little Women was, in large part, a convention dictated by commercial realities of 19th-century fiction. But I don't think Gerwig needed to highlight it so bluntly and use it to undercut the scene where Jo went to the train station to find Professor Bhaer. At that the point, the audience is so invested in the story and the characters that the ending of the film would've stood on its own with no trouble. I get that the central question is not who Jo is going to marry, but who she's going to be, but some of those final scenes were rather inelegant after the rest of the film was, in my mind, so elegant and so perfectly modulated.

Planning to see it again to see how that ending lands, but overall I found a lot to love about this.
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Little Women reviews

Post by Mister Tee »

Seems as well-received as the rumors/tweets indicated.

90 on Metacritic; Gerwig's second film to reach those heights.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/revie ... en-1257699

https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/l ... 203407660/
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