Little Women

This was a good and entertaining film that was far from perfect. Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, this film was anchored by great performances (in particular Saorise Ronan and Florence Pugh)  but the pacing was problematic which made the 135 minutes run-time felt longer than it should. This was no Lady Bird. Furthermore, Gerwig's direction lacked emotional weight throughout the film save the last 10 minutes. Now, that last 10 minutes was excellent - intelligent meta-fiction that had the right balance of drama and comedy - but it was perhaps a little too late.

Gerwig's adaptation of the novel was better than her directing. Her interpretation seemed to require its audience to have some knowledge of the source material which may be difficult for a non-American audience.

The screenplay played with time and chronology effectively and managed to highlight and parallel significant events of the girls' life in the past and the present. However, her direction was unremarkable. She never really let scenes marinate and emotions fully develop, frequently cutting scenes off just at the peak. And her direction was not always clear even with the different tints for different timelines.

Ronan was excellent and truly embodied the spirit of Jo March. She carried her scenes beautifully and was a heroine worth rooting for. However, the film's material did not appear to allow Ronan to fully express her range. So was she really worthy of her Oscar nomination over Jessie Buckley (BAFTA nom for Wild Rose) or Lupita Nyongo (SAG and CC noms for Us) or Alfre Woodard (Indie Spirit nom for Clemency)?

The standout - and breakout (again) - was Pugh as Amy March. Pugh deserved her Best Supporting Oscar nomination (definitely over Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers). Pugh made Amy a distinctive character, and other than Jo, the only other sister who was well defined. Pugh's Amy was a delight to watch and her Parisian scenes were better distractions from the doldrums of Jo's self-absorbed boordiness.

Eliza Scanlen was underrated as Beth March  and Emma Watson was pretty and bland as Meg March.

Meryl Streep stole her scenes (and chew them all magnificently) and Laura Dern was reliable as always.

Timothee Chalamaet was an odd choice for Laurie. He has the visage for a period piece, but his chemistry with the girls was more that of a brother than a lover; sure he could act, but ironically he just seemed miscast here.

His counterpart Louis Garrel as Prof Bhaer, on the other hand, was great casting albeit a 180-degree departure from the book.

And a special shout-out Jayne Houdyshell who got the best line of the film.

Alexander Desplat's score was also another standout of the film. It played almost throughout the entirety of the film and really helped to underscore Gerwig's direction, sometimes even giving it more emotional heft.

Cinematography was by Yorick Le Saux and he imparted the March's home with a lovely warm glow of familial bonds and memories; whereas the present was highlighted in colder blues of isolation and despair. But perhaps a bit too on the nose.

Jacqueline Durran's costuming for the film was also outstanding. Not only did it look period-appropriate but yet also modern and stylish.

Little Women was a good film and deserving of a Best Picture nomination, but in the end, if there had only been five nominees, it might not have made the cut. Similarly, Gerwig did a much better job adapting the novel than directing the film. If the Best Director category had more slots, she might get a nomination, but of the Best Picture nominees, she would still have to fight with JoJo Rabbit's Taika Waititi or her partner Noah Baumbach for Marriage Story.