An excellent movie of a wonderful book

Most young people today do not read 19th century novels unless they have been assigned in class. They are usually regarded, by all but a few, as dry, dull and preachy. There is one major exception to this rule. Little Women, the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott is as popular today as it ever was. I worked for a time in the children's and young adult services division of the local library, and was pleased and surprised at the number of young girl who requested to borrow Little Women (as well as the other Alcott books in the same series, Little Men and Jo's Boys).

The story, if you are not aware, is of the March family. This poor but proud family, consists of a father away in the Civil War, a loving and upstanding mother ("Marmee") and four fun loving daughters of differing temperments.

Although all the characters are important and all have scenes vital to the book (and the film) as a whole, the one who can be considered the main charactere is Jo, the second daughter, who is 15 when the story starts. Jo is a bright, tomboyish type of girl with a love of writing and an impatience with social conventions. Her sisters, Meg, who is 16 when the book begins, is a more traditional girl, romantic and domestically minded. The two younger sisters are Beth, who is quiet, shy and has a love of music, and Amy who is the youngest and a bit petted and spoiled, but quite charming and artistic. The book carries them through the adventures of several years, as they deal with love, loss, illness, death, recovery, reunions and all the other eventualities that go into being a family.

The 1994 film version of Little Women is one of the best filmed adaptations of a book I have ever seen. Most classic novels lose a lot in the translation into film and I was thrilled to see that this one did not. The characters look and act almost exactly like they do in the book (although the book has a bit more 19th century style religion and preaching about moral character). The characters grow and develop just as real young women would, from active and awkward teenagers to self possessed young women of strength and character. Meg marries over the objections of her snobbish great Aunt, Jo has her writing published in a magazine, has some romantic troubles with the young man next door, and later takes a job taking care of children in New York, where she meets an interesting professor. Beth has serious health problems, but still enjoys her music and her pet cats. Amy blossoms from a slightly sulky child to a poised and beautiful woman and an ornament to the best society.

By now, you may be thinking "So what? Little Women sounds to me like some sugar coated film about four Little Miss Perfects and their silly girly adventures". Well, that would be a completely mistaken assumption. This family film is one of the best at portraying the difficulties of life in a large family, the choices one must make in life and the problems inherent in whatever choice we make.

I would recommend this movie to nearly everyone but most especially young women in the 12 to 20 age range. Although virtually anyone can come away from this movie having gained a little insight into life.