A Little Wonder

LITTLE WOMEN was the first novel that my mother ever bought for me. I was around ten years old, and naturally, I wanted to be Jo. I read the book so many times, I felt a part of the March family. I was, however, as a child AND an adult, always disappointed in the film versions. They were overacted, syrupy, almost amateurish. I was a bit concerned when this latest version was released, but allowed my admiration for the cast and director to persuade me to buy a ticket.

I was not disappointed. Winona Ryder is luminescent, Susan Sarandon is the mother I always dreamed of having, Trini Alvarado breathes life into the usually thankless role of Meg, Claire Danes is a treasure, Kirsten Dunst epitomized a spoiled Amy, and Samantha Mathis (as the grown Amy) did much with a very small role.

The costumes, sets, and music were given so much attention to detail. I greatly appreciate when filmmakers take every opportunity to make the filmgoing experience an all-encompassing one. As all of the elements that went into this film worked so well together, I was able to sit back and simply breathe in the whole story.

Ms. Armstrong, by recreating so lovingly this Civil War period, succeeded in creating a magical world, where manners, protocol, and behavior weighed so heavily in the life of the community. There, in Concord, the March family stood out as a family whose morals and philosophy for living truly dictated the choices they made, regardless of how difficult it may have been to live so high-minded a life.

Due to the fact that Mr. March chose to minister to the soldiers fighting in the Civil War, the March women must scrimp and save in order to make ends meet. It is necessary for them to make sacrifices daily, while maintaining their high moral standards. At times, they are able to rise above the economic difficulties with which they are faced; at times, the girls rebel, as they too wish only to have fun and forget for a time how financially strapped they are.

The girls DO forget their situation, when they come together to act out the plays written by Jo, which they perform in their attic; or when they publish their "newspaper" for their own personal amusement. Life for the March family changes dramatically, however, with the welcome addition of Laurie, their next-door neighbor's grandson, who comes to live with his grandfather and befriends all the March girls, especially Jo.

Perhaps the most magical qualities of the world inhabited by these people are the enjoyment they take in intellectual conversations and the importance placed on personal relationships. In a world absent of television, radio, and computer diversions, their only means of entertainment and mental stimulation is that of their own making and the March family prides itself on their commitment to nurturing creative abilities and sharing them with all who come into contact with them.

This film encompasses approximately 3-5 years in the life of the March family, and although their daily routines don't actually vary all that much, there are several pivotal events which alter their lives drastically and, in the process, create an even stronger emotional connection to them for the audience.

This version of LITTLE WOMEN brings to the forefront issues which were important during that era, especially women's suffrage and transcendentalism. Absorbing the historical content of the period into the fabric of the story helps to lend a texture to the film, a believability, which only served to deepen my appreciation of the movie.

At its heart, LITTLE WOMEN is the story of a family whose love, respect, and admiration for each other strengthens them all during times of hardship and tragedy, draws people near to them in order to bask in the warmth of that love, frees them to be the people they are, and heightens their awareness of just how special and extraordinary their family is.

When I go to my sister's house to visit her, I spend the evening with my nieces and we have "girlie" night. We bake brownies, I give them manicures, and we watch LITTLE WOMEN. None of us ever tires of it; we still cry and rejoice at each sorrow and happiness. LITTLE WOMEN is a book which is probably part of every little girl's life (along with A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN). This film makes that experience possible for a new and supposedly more savvy generation of little girls, while bridging the gap between girlhood and womanhood, making it a damn good chick flick, too!