Little Women (PG)
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This came out in 1994, but I didn't see it until 2021, about five years after I read the novel of the same name. And I don't really feel motivated to write about all the events of the movie when I've already written about the book, so you might as well read that review. Of course, I left out a lot of details of the book in my review, but that's okay, because the movie also left out a lot of details of the book. Besides which, there are things about the movie I just wouldn't want to spoil, anyway. I will say I didn't like the movie as much as the book, partly because the book takes more time to get you invested in the characters, but also partly because I couldn't stop thinking about the book while I was watching the movie, and that hindered my enjoyment of it. But I did like it. It really is a pretty good adaptation, about as good as it could get without making the movie much longer than I'd be willing to watch, anyway.
I'll also say that while I'm pretty sure the book never specifically mentioned where the story was set, the movie does say it's in Concord, Massachusetts, which is where Louisa May Alcott wrote the book. And it's set during the Civil War, so the father of the March family spends much of the movie away from home. (And we don't see that much of him even after he returns.) So Mrs. Abigail March (Susan Sarandon), whom all four of her daughters call "Marmee", has to raise them on her own. (Well, with some help from a servant named Hannah, and just like in the book, I can't understand how they could afford to pay her when the family is supposedly having such financial difficulty.) The oldest daughter is Meg (Trini Alvarado), then come Jo (Winona Rider), Beth (Claire Danes), and Amy (Kirsten Dunst). There's a point in the movie where the screen reads "four years later", which in the book I think should have been three years. After that point, Amy is played by Samantha Mathis, though all the other girls are played by the same actresses. And I'm not sure how much time passes after that point, but it might be several years, the movie doesn't say. So from the halfway point on, I never know how old any of the girls are supposed to be. Anyway, I don't want to give away any plot details, as I said before, but I do want to name most of the actors, which I've already started to do. There's also the March girls' friend Laurie (aka Teddy), who is played by Christian Bale. And Laurie's tutor, John Brooke, who is played by Eric Stoltz. And Friedrich Bhaer, who is played by Gabriel Byrne. And I don't think any of the other actors were familiar to me, except a very minor character played by Donal Logue.
So, I don't know what else to say. (Seriously, go read my book review if you're interested in the plot.) But it's definitely a good movie, and I'm glad I've finally seen it. All the acting is good, and the story is good. I just wish I could have avoided mentally comparing it to the book, and constantly wondering when certain plot points were going to happen, instead of just enjoying the movie on its own merits. I should also say there have been several movie adaptations of the book, both before and after this one. But the only other one I want to see is from 2019. I have no idea when I might get to that.