Fans Ought to See the Modern Retelling of 'Little Women'

Little Women is easily one of my most favorite IPs ever.  Not only have I read Louisa May Alcott’s original novel and its sequels countless of times since I was a kid, but I’ve gone out of my way to see many of its screen adaptations – the films from 1933, 1949, and 1994; the anime series from 1981 and the other anime series from 1987; and the year-end BBC mini-series in 2017.  And thus, it was only imperative for me to watch the latest one that came out in 2018.

This new Little Women movie is not like any of the previous adaptations, for it is a modern retelling.  This means its characters and major plot beats remain the same, but it’s set in our present time.  And for being this kind of novelty, it’s automatically something fans would want to check out.

However, beyond the modern spin, there’s nothing truly special about it.  The quality is made-for-TV, and no improvement to the story is really brought by changing the setting into a modern one.  It’s far from the brilliant contemporary re-imagining that Sherlock accomplished with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary work.  In fact, its modernized interpretations of some of the source material’s elements and events come out as awkward.  Furthermore, the slight implication that Jo is an SJW/leftist in this version didn’t sit well with me.

That being said, this movie still charmed me.  There’s just something inherently beautiful about Little Women that even its most mediocre adaptations still manage to project what is heartwarming and winsome about it.  At least, that is what has been true for me.

In summary, despite being deeply flawed, this modernized version of Little Women retains a good amount of the heart of its source material, making it adequately pleasing and touching.

Miscellaneous musings:

• Most of the cast is relatively unknown.  Aside from Marmee (Back to the Future’s Lea Thompson) and Laurie (High School Musical’s Lucas Grabeel), I didn’t recognize any of the actors.
• As adaptation goes, it understandably has differences with the source material and other adaptations.  Surprisingly, its biggest difference from other incarnations of Little Women isn’t related to its 21^st century updates. It’s its Aunt March!  She’s easily the kindest and least crabby version of the character ever.
• It also probably has the hunkiest version of Prof. Bhaer.

• Its strongest updated plot detail is changing Beth’s illness from scarlet fever into cancer.
• There’s actually another Little Women film adaptation coming out on Christmas 2019!  This time, it’s a major Hollywood production, and involves big names like Saoirse Ronan (Jo), Emma Watson (Meg), Timothée Chalamet (Laurie), Laura Dern (Marmee), and Meryl Streep (Aunt March).  The up and coming Florence Pugh, who played Paige in the biopic Fighting with My Family (haven’t seen it yet, but I heard it’s great) and Elizabeth de Burgh in Outlaw King (this one I saw), is playing Amy; while Eliza Scanlen will make her big screen debut by playing Beth.  Lady Bird’s writer-director Greta Gerwig is writing and directing the film.  This is a movie that I’m definitely looking forward to.