Disclaimer:  The views expressed here are mine alone and do not represent those of allgames.com.

Introduction to the Little Women Movie Review by Ms. H

By a show of hands -- who have read Louisa May Alcott’s book, Little Women? You can’t see me -- but I raised my hand.  I consider this book to be one of great literary gems, along with other well-known works such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and others.  Just so you know, there is another Little Women movie  in the works starring Meryl Streep and other actors. The movie I saw is a different one from this forthcoming movie and is set in modern day times.

Synopsis of the Little Women Movie

The storyline focuses on four girls who are sisters of varying ages -- with  Sara Davenport playing the part of Jo March -- the oldest. The other sisters were Beth March, Amy March, and Meg March. They each have dreams and made a pact as young girls to pursue their dreams to the fullest.  

As I alluded to earlier, the movie is shown in present day with flashbacks to time periords when they were younger.  I think the point of the movie was to show how different each were; however, they were still a close-knit family. By the way, there was a brief altercation between the youngest sister Amy and the oldest sister Jo -- which of course was resolved and becomes a non-issue in the end.

The Little Women movie is basically a drama that tells the story about the sisters and whether or not their dreams were realized as they grew older. If there is a villain in this movie, I would say that it was Jo March; however, as expected, as the story progresses, you find that she is not as mean-spirited as you may think she is.

First Impression of the Little Women Movie

I must admit that my first impression of Little Women was not a good one. I was not a fan of the loud dialogue between the characters at the beginning of the movie.  This was especially true of one of the stars of the movie I’ve mentioned-- Sarah Davenport who played the part of Jo March. Looks like she went to great lengths to say her lines loudly and to enunciate each word. She also overly exaggerated her hand motions as she spoke -- similar to how actors on live plays perform.

Because of this, I was glad when there were quiet moments without the loud talking between characters at the beginning of the movie.  Even though my first impression was not favorable for Little Women because of the loud exchanges between the characters -- my opinion of the movie changed for the better as the story moved on and the dialogue between the characters become more natural and at a lower octave.

Pros of the Little Women Movie

For the most part, the story was easy to follow and was not complicated.  There were no major problems in the movie, except for the health challenges of one of the sisters and the brief altercation between the older and younger sister.

The movie was just the right length -- neither too long nor too short.  Even though some of the story is predictable, it ended at a logical place without the need to ask what happens next.

Cons of the Little Women Movie

Since Little Women is a drama, the movie seemed to move along slowly with lots of dialogue -- some of which was not enjoyable for me to listen to initially.

As I mentioned, certain parts of the movie, Little Women were predictable as well. For example, I knew that there would be a relationship between Jo and the professor who was criticizing her writing.   Two of Jo’s dreams was to become a writer as well as visit, or even stay in Europe. Also to clarify, the story was told mostly from the point of view of Jo March.

There was plenty of overacting -- at least in the beginning by Sarah Davenport who played the character of Jo March.  Every word and action seemed to be over-exaggerated. To me -- this was a negative for the overall movie.

If you see this movie, you may notice a bond between Jo and the sister who had health problems. However, I think the writer and director did not show why they were so close -- especially since there were two other sisters around as well.

Assessment of the Little Women Movie

If you want to see a movie that doesn’t have lots of loud explosions, fights, violence, car chases, etc, then the Little Women movie may be for you.  Personally, I found the movie to be ok to watch, but I think the movie would have been better throughout if the characters did not resort to saying their lines like they were in a live play instead of in a movie.

Rating of the Little Women Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Little Women Movie 2 1/4 stars.