Not many teenagers are the type to want to watch a romance/coming of age movie set in the times of the Civil War. However, many were sucked into the movie, Little Women, including me. When finding out the stunning young actor Timothée Chalamet would be in this film, teenage girls came running to the theatre to watch. However, they got much more than just a pretty face. The movie is an amazing coming of age story that many teens can relate to.

Little Women is based on the book Little Women written in 1868 by Louisa May Alcott. The book is a semi-autobiography of Alcott’s life. The novel was adapted for the stage and screen. The film adaptation follows the story of the March sisters whose father is fighting in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The story follows the sisters from childhood to womanhood going back and forth from memories of the past. Jo (Saoirse Ronan) is making a living as a writer in New York. The oldest, Meg (Emma Watson), is married to a schoolteacher and struggles with financial difficulty. The youngest, Amy (Florence Pugh), is her family’s last hope in marrying rich and supporting them. Amy is sent on a trip to Europe with her aunt to work on her painting and meet someone. While she is away, she ends up running into Theodore Larwence or ‘Laurie’ (Timothée Chalamet), the girls’ childhood best friend.Meanwhile, their fourth sister, Beth (Eliza Scanlen), grows sicker as her Scarlet’s Fever comes back a second time. Although the illness is tragic, it is the one event that brings the family back together. Little Women shows the hardships of the time period and the strength it takes to overcome sickness, sexism and the struggles that come with young love and domesticity.

The movie can appeal to people a little older as there is content that might be hard for young viewers to understand and they will more likely be bored. Each sister is very different and has characteristics that can pertain to different views. Finding the character that is most like you is exciting and pulls you into the story. I like how the movie goes into the memories of the sisters’ childhood that explains details pertaining to the present. The ensemble effort of the cast pulls the story together and makes the story very realistic. I also love how the movie plays into the realities of women becoming successful on their own and not needing to be married. The plot points to the theme of overcoming the popular belief at the time that women should be a good housewife. The story of the sisters’ growth and success shows that love and house work is not all a woman is fit for. 

Overall I give the movie a 10/10. The movie is wonderful and very inspiring to women of all ages. Little Women is well deserving of the hype it got from viewers.