Little Women is a 2019 American coming-of-age period drama film written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. It chronicles the lives of the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—in Concord, Massachusetts, during the 19th century. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, and Chris Cooper.
Sony Pictures initiated the development of the film in 2013, with Amy Pascal coming on board to produce in 2015 and Gerwig hired to write its screenplay the following year. Using Alcott's other writings as inspiration, Gerwig penned the script in 2018. She was made director that same year, with the film being the second she had solely directed. Filming took place from October to December 2018 in the state of Massachusetts, with editing commencing the day after filming wrapped.
Little Women premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on December 7, 2019, and was released theatrically in the United States on December 25, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Gerwig's screenplay and direction as well as the performances of the cast, and grossed $218 million worldwide. Among its numerous accolades, the film garnered six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Pugh), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score, and won for Best Costume Design. It also earned five British Academy Film Award nominations, with a win for Best Costume Design, and two Golden Globe Award nominations.
Plot
In 1868, Jo March, a teacher in New York City, goes to Mr. Dashwood, an editor who agrees to publish a story she has written. Her youngest sister, Amy, who is in Paris with their Aunt March, attends a party with their childhood friend and neighbor, Laurie. Amy becomes angry at Laurie's drunken behavior, prompting him to mock her for spending time with wealthy businessman Fred Vaughn. In New York, Jo becomes hurt when Friedrich Bhaer, a professor interested in her, gives critical feedback on her writing, angering her. After learning from a letter that her younger sister Beth's illness has worsened, Jo returns home to Concord, Massachusetts.
Seven years earlier in 1861 while at a party with her older sister, Meg, Jo meets Laurie. On Christmas morning, the girls' mother, "Marmee", persuades them to give their breakfast to their poor neighbor Mrs. Hummel and her starving children. After returning home, they find a table full of food given to them by their neighbor and Laurie's grandfather, Mr. Laurence. Marmee then reads a letter from their father fighting in the American Civil War. Jo regularly reads to Aunt March, hoping Aunt March would invite her to Europe.
When Jo, Meg, Laurie, and John BrookeLaurie's tutor and Meg's future husbandgo to the theater, a jealous Amy burns Jo's writings. The next morning, Amy, wanting an upset Jo to forgive her, chases her and Laurie onto a lake where they are skating. They save Amy when she falls through the ice. Mr. Laurence notices Beth's quietness and invites her to play his late daughter's piano in his house. Meg sits down with John in the present after buying an expensive fabric they cannot afford and expresses her unhappiness about being poor. Laurie visits Amy to apologize for his behavior, urging her not to marry Fred but instead marry him. Though in love with Laurie, Amy refuses, upset at always being second to Jo. Despite this, she also turns down Fred's proposal.
Mr. Laurence gifts his piano to Beth in the past and discovers she has contracted scarlet fever from the Hummels. To avoid the illness, Amy is sent to stay with Aunt March, who advises her to provide for her family by marrying well. John urges Meg to turn the fabric into a dress in the present to make her happy, but she reveals she had sold it and reassures him of her happiness as his wife. Beth recovers in time for Christmas in the past, and their father returns home as well. After worsening in the present, Beth dies. On Meg's wedding day in the past, Jo tries to convince her to run away, but Meg expresses her elation to marry John. Aunt March announces her European trip, taking Amy instead of Jo. After the wedding, Laurie proposes to Jo, who refuses, explaining she does not see herself married.