Little Women is based on the novel by the same name and written by Louisa May Alcott. It is the story of four young ladies and their mother, who are trying to survive on their own while their father is off fighting the American Civil War. The girls’ names are Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth, and their mother is simply called Marmee. The book is based on a true story and tells about the ups and downs of the four young girls, as well as the struggles of their mother, who is working hard to make sure the girls have everything they need even though their father isn’t there to provide for them.
While Jo March, a teacher in New York City, goes to Mr. Dashwood because he has agreed to publish a story she has written, her youngest sister Amy is in Paris with their Aunt March. The year is 1868. Amy attends a party with a childhood friend named Laurie (Theodore), who gets drunk and makes Amy angry. Meanwhile, Jo is getting negative feedback on her writing from a professor named Friedrich Bhaer, who is interested in her. Jo’s sister Beth, who contracted scarlet fever, is getting worse, which Jo has learned through a letter she received. Jo returns to Concord, Massachusetts because of this.
The movie switches from present day to the past to help the audience learn more about each of the girls and their personal stories. Some of the things that happen include the girls saving Amy when she falls through the ice, Laurie begging Amy not to marry Fred but to be with him instead, Aunt March taking Amy to Europe with her, and Beth dying from her illness. The story is very much a coming-of-age tale that describes the girls’ lives and includes their mother reading them letters from their father whenever she receives them. Each of the girls has her own distinct personality, which keeps the story interesting.
In the end, Jo negotiates copyright and royalties on her book with Mr. Dashwood, and Aunt March dies and leaves her a house. Jo decides to turn the house into a school, and eventually Meg, Amy, and Bhaer all end up teaching there. Jo calls her novel Little Women but has to change the ending of the story because Mr. Dashwood didn’t like the fact that the character named after Jo is still unmarried when the story ends. The movie was released in late 2019 and was made with a budget of $40 million. To date it has grossed nearly $220 million.
Below are some of the many lively cast and characters in this movie:
Saoirse Ronan (Josephine “Jo” March)
Jo is the main character of the movie and is strong-willed, stubborn, and has a fiery temper. She is the second oldest of the four girls. She is somewhat of a tomboy and loved writing and performing from an early age, even deciding at one point that she does not wish to marry. Still, she eventually marries at the age of 25 and has two sons, Rob and Ted. Her husband is a professor by the name of Friedrich Bhaer. Her novel Little Women is still a classic today, but a lot of people don’t realize that she published several sequels to the story in the years after it was published.
Emma Watson (Margaret “Meg” March)
Meg is the oldest sister and is 16 years old when the novel begins. Most people consider her the prettiest of all the March girls. She works for a bit as a governess for a wealthy family and eventually makes her way into high society. Her friend and neighbor, Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, warns her not to be too snobby. Meg is anxious to be the perfect “little woman” and often lectures her younger sisters to make sure they do the same. Eventually, Meg marries a man by the name of John Brooke and they have twins – a boy and a girl – and another daughter later on.
Florence Pugh (Amy March)
Amy is the baby of the family and 12 years old when the story begins. She loves art and always tries hard to act like a proper young lady. She is somewhat vain and self-centered because she is the baby of the family, but she is a self-confident young woman who is determined to get what she wants out of life. Her middle name is Curtis, and she is the only March sister who uses her full name instead of a diminutive. At some point, her rich Aunt March asks her to go to Europe with her, and she confirms that continuing with her art is something she definitely wants to do. She ended up being very successful in her life.
Eliza Scanlen (Elizabeth “Beth” March)
Beth is the second youngest of the March girls and is 13 at the beginning of the story. She is sweet but very quiet and shy, preferring to stay home instead of going to school. She is also very musical and loves to play the piano. When she visits the Hummel family, Beth contracts scarlet fever. Since Jo, to whom Beth is very close, has already had scarlet fever, she takes care of Beth while she’s sick. But while Beth recovers, her health is never the same afterward. Eventually, the family realizes she is going to die and makes the last part of her life as comfortable as possible. Her death is the main loss in the book Little Women.
Laura Dern (Marmee March)
Marmee March is the matriarch of the March clan and is trying to keep her lively daughters happy and healthy while their father is away fighting in the American Civil War. She regularly reads letters to her girls from their father, who is a chaplain, and she is very involved in charitable works. She also admitted to her daughter Jo that the two of them have similar tempers, only Marmee has learned to control hers. She works hard to make sure her daughters grow up with the right morals, and she is trying to make sure that each of her daughters gets what she needs to thrive in the world that they live in.
Timothée Chalamet (Theodore “Laurie” Laurence)
Laurie is a rich young man who lives close to the March family. He is older than Jo and younger than Meg. The Marches consider him the “boy next door,” and he has an overprotective paternal grandfather the movie simply calls Mr. Laurence. He is an attractive man and wishes to go to Harvard, which is why he is being tutored by John Brooke. He and Amy eventually get married and they have a daughter they named after Beth. In real life, Alcott based the character of Laurie on two different men from her life that she befriended.
Meryl Streep (Aunt March)
Aunt March is actually Father March’s aunt. She is a very wealthy woman who lives in a mansion and takes frequent trips to Europe. She is a bit of a snob and looks down on some aspects of the family’s life. She gives most people the impression that she is cold and cut off from the world, but deep down she is very sweet and sensitive.
Other characters include the following: