Modern take on Little Women does little with the big idea
This is the sixth movie adaptation of Little Women, this time with a modern twist. Take the tip and sit on your hands until number seven comes along chock full of bona fide stars like Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson and Meryl Streep.
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This is the sixth feature film adaptation of the classic Louisa May Alcott book Little Women.
Take the tip and sit on your hands until number seven comes along. It will be a total Oscars magnet come Christmas time, and the cast is chock full of bona fide stars such as Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet and a promising up-and-comer called Meryl Streep.
As for this one, well, it’s a bland and forgettable affair from start to finish, and not just because it fills the frame with no-namers who have barely a TV credit between them.
No, the main reason this version of Little Women meekly rolls itself into a big ball of fluff is its dim realisation of its one bright idea.
Debutante director Claire Niederpruem takes the seemingly radical step of staging this oh-so-old-timey yarn in the present day, and then does precious little with it.
There could have been some serious potential to be mined by fusing Alcott’s time-honoured tale of the delicate trials and tribulations of the four March sisters with the intimidating array of pressures facing females in the 21st century.
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Instead, the movie just blunders along in a dithering daze, assuming we’ll all be wowed by the occasional mention of social media, the inclusion of some gadgets and some on-point contemporary costuming.
Not exactly terrible, but not at all essential.
LITTLE WOMEN (PG)
Director: Claire Niederpruem (feature debut)
Starring: Sarah Davenport, Melanie Stone, Elise Jones, Taylor Murphy.
Rating : **
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