Little Women
Film
Review by Kam Williams
19th
Century Classic Revisited as Present-Day Coming-of-Age Tale
Published
by
Louisa May Alcott in 1868, Little
Women chronicled the coming of age of Meg (Melanie
Stone),
Jo (Sarah
Davenport),
Beth (Allie
Jennings)
and Amy March (Taylor Murphy), siblings being raised by their mom
(Lea Thompson) in Concord, Massachusetts while their absentee father
(Bart Johnson) served as a pastor during the Civil War. The
semi-autobiographical novel's main characters were ostensibly based
on the author and her three sisters.
The
iconoclastic opus challenged the status quo by exploring such themes
as love, independence and equal rights from a female perspective,
challenging the conventional thinking about domesticity and other
traditional women's roles. The seminal work's title was inspired by
its teenage heroines' loss of innocence on the road to adulthood.
Over
the years, Little Women has been brought to the big screen a
half-dozen times, most notably the productions featuring Katherine
Hepburn (1933), Elizabeth Taylor (1949) and Susan Sarandon (1994).
And Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has already signed to direct another
adaptation co-starring Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan and Meryl Streep
slated to be released in December of 2019.
This
year's version, with a relatively-underwhelming cast, marks the
directorial debut of Clare Niederpruem. What does make the movie
unique, however, is that it is set in present-day New York.
Unfortunately, the
film fails to explore current feminist issues, and the result is an
unengaging story which feels terribly dated instead of
groundbreaking.
A
disappointing, 21st
Century update that's behind instead of ahead of the times.
Fair
(1.5 stars)
Rated
PG-13
for mature themes and teen drinking
Running
time: 112 minutes
Production
Studio: Main Dog Productions / Paulist Productions / Escapology
Studio:
Pinnacle Peak Pictures / Pure Flix Entertainment
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