Little Women Analysis

Little Women

Written for the screen & Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay and more.

Little Women is a period drama, it tells the story of four sisters who have different goals and dreams in life. The film has a similar setting in terms of characters to Our Little Sister by Hirokazu Kore-eda, but there the dynamics between the sisters is different than what we see here. There it is a mix of mother and sister, especially with the elder sister whereas here everyone are like sisters or friends. The most impressive thing about Little Women, is the intimacy between the sisters. The way they celebrate things, the way they fight about things, the way they lend shoulders for each other to cry and the way they care about each other. The proximity that they have is visually evident. The women in this film feel like real women, they don't feel like someone's idea of women. The conflicts raised in the film are societal pressure to marriage, about how women aren't encouraged to have big dreams. These conflicts, I hope not and I don't think are relevant in first world countries but are totally relevant today in other parts of the world.

The argument that is presented by Jo March that, women are not just about love and heart, they are also about mind, talent and a lot other things, and yet she feels lonely; I think is the core argument of the film. The counter argument by Meg March that, she wants to do all that she wanted to but along with her husband and how she wants to marry and have kids. This is not exactly a counter argument, it just speaks about how different the lives of women can be, by the choices they make or get to make. The problem faced by Jo is that, she doesn't want to be pulled back by marriage but she also feels lonely and she craves love. The answer to that is, well-raised, non-patriarchal men. 

The movie is shot on film, the distortions work in favor of setting up the world; be it overexposed backgrounds or grainy footage at places. It is difficult to shoot on digital and deliberately add distortions in post, it doesn't look authentic. Saoirse Ronan was terrific as Jo, her indecisive and complex thought process, could have easily come across as being fickle minded and being as a weak character if not written and performed well. It just felt more human and empathetic. It made it easier for us to root for her. The portions where she writes her book, they were shot in a visually appealing way. The jump cuts of the candle getting shorter, she laying all her papers on the floor, the binding of the book; I couldn't imagine someone writing a book being this cinematic. Greta Gerwig has a strong voice, her debut Lady Bird was a character study and it felt like that film came from a very personal space and Little Women, although is far away in terms of setting, this film also has her voice etched all over.