little women...

Moira and I went along to the Watershed this afternoon to watch Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” – in the words of the cinema’s blurb: “a fresh interpretation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved 1868 novel”. I knew the basic storyline, but had never read the book (or any of its sequels). So, you probably know far more about it than me!

Essentially, four teenaged sisters and their mother live in a new neighbourhood in Massachusetts in ‘genteel poverty’ (with the emphasis on the ‘genteel’, it seems to me). Having lost all his money, their father is acting as a pastor, miles from home, involved in the American Civil War…

The original book was loosely based on Alcott’s own family experiences – although (according to Wikipedia) she had an improvident, impractical father and the family suffered REAL poverty and occasional hunger – not any of this ‘genteel’ stuff (and she needed to write in an attempt to earn some money for the impoverished family).

It’s certainly a heart-warming film, a powerful story, full of strong, attractive characters and fine actors (including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep – and I absolutely fell in love with Saoirse Ronan’s Jo March character!) and, clearly, the story is an endearing one… but, for me – despite me being something of a sentimental old fool(!) – I found it all rather too sugar-coated for my liking.

Clearly, having now read a few film reviews (which seem to consistently give it 5-stars – with the occasional 4-star!), I’m very much in the minority. I DID enjoy the film – and no doubt in years to come we’ll be watching re-runs on cosy, winter Sunday afternoons around the fireside sipping our mulled wine and feeling good about the world – but I’m pretty sure it won’t make my top 10 films of 2020 (ok, so this is my FIRST film of the year!).

PS: You’ll no doubt remember that Greta Gerwig directed the much-acclaimed “Lady Bird” film (which I loved), which also featured the wonderful Saoirse Ronan in the lead role.