Little Women

The four sisters Jo ( Saoirse Ronan ), Meg ( Emma Watson ), Amy (Florence Pugh), and Beth ( Eliza Scanlen ) lead an idyllic, happy life in the mid-19th century – if only it weren’t for the civil war that temporarily divided the family Has. Because while her father ( Bob Odenkirk ) is away fighting slavery, her mother Marmee ( Laura Dern ) has to take care of the four of them. They make the best of the situation, each of them looking for a way to express themselves and their role in this world. So Jo is determined to become a writer and not commit to any man. Not even to Laurie ( Timothée Chalamet), with whom she has a deep friendship…

One could have been a bit surprised when it became known that Greta Gerwig was shooting Little Women. Ironically, the artist who designed original, strong-willed, modern women in her screenplays ( Frances Ha ) as well as in her directorial debut Lady Bird is filming the now more than 150-year-old classic by Louisa May Alcott. For what reason? It has been adapted several times before, in this country Betty and her sisters as well as the anime series A Happy Family be best known. Another version seemed somehow superfluous, a waste even of Gerwig’s great talent, which told stories that were as universal as they were unique.

• Little Women