2020 OSCARS: Little Women (2019) - Doing Something Different Isn't Enough in an Adaptation

[Quick Summary: The story of aspiring writer Jo March and her sisters Meg, Amy, and Beth in the 1850s.]

TWO THOUGHTS:

1) STUNNED. My sister is one of the hardest demographics to get into theaters:
- She BALKS at going to the movies.
- She would rather watch tv re-runs of "Say Yes to the Dress" at home because she can multi-task, i.e., short attention span.

However, she is also the best demographic if she likes the film:
- She tells EVERYONE about the film.  You can't pay her to shut up.
- She buys the soundtracks, DVDs for the extras. 

So when she insisted that we must see this film on opening day (Christmas), I was stunned. * **

2) DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT ISN'T ENOUGH IN ADAPTATION.

Making a film just to "do something different" would have been boring and a waste of money.  Audiences want more.  (Or as my sister put it, "well done.")

I think the smartest thing the producers did here was to match the right writer to the material.

Writer/director Greta Gerwig said that this film is about "women, art, and money," and understood that these themes have not gone away for women.

How did Gerwig make this script FEEL like the book even though the structure is different (told in flashback)?

I think it is because she:
a) was well aware of the themes and
b) used the form (flashback) to make a point about it.

In the scenes below, notice the contrast from past (carefree, close family fun) to present (hard work, poor, lonely).

ex. "INT./EXT. MARCH HOUSE. NIGHT. 1861.
...The girls laugh and prance and gossip around the warm fire. He stands apart, loving them all, the whole family...

EXT. MARCH HOUSE. NIGHT. CONTINUOUS.

...but most especially Jo. As Laurie retreats back to his big, lonely house, he looks across the field to Jo, writing alone in the attic, absorbed with her work.

THE PRESENT. EXT./INT. NEW YORK BOARDING HOUSE. NIGHT. 1868.

Jo works with her writing costume on: an antique military jacket. Her writing is like an attack, moving into enemy territory and occupying space. Her hand starts to cramp, she shakes it, stretches it, and then switches hands.

Suddenly she stops - she's heard something. She opens the door, but the hallway is empty. She looks down and sees a book, a very beautiful copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. She opens the cover - inside there is a note:

FRIEDRICH (read to camera): For the writer in the attic: Because you enjoyed the play o much tonight, I wanted you to have this. It will help you study character and paint it with your pen. I would love to read what you're writing, if you'll trust me. I promise honesty and whatever intelligence I can muster. Yours, Friedrich

Jo opens the book and almost greedily she begins to read, reciting the words to herself.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I was impressed that Gerwig always knew what point she was making. It shows up in the unity of the script.

Little Women (2019)
by Greta Gerwig
Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott

*You all want to know, "How do you get THAT demographic into the theater?!"

When I asked her, she replied, "It has to be well done."

Sigh. Not helpful. What makes a film "well done"?! 

**She also mentioned becoming interested after seeing a segment interviewing the director on  her favorite "CBS Sunday Morning."

So I guess knowing the audience you're marketing your film to?