" Little Women" - SPOILER ALERT

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From now on, I will rate the movies I watch on a scale of one to five stars, with five being the highest. The heart means it's a favorite.

The last book I read in 2021 was "Little Women". It was the first time I read it and I'm so glad I finally did. 

Until I read the introduction, I had no idea that, originally, the book as we know it today was published as two books. The first one was called "Little Women". It told the story of the March girls when they were in their teens and preteens. The second book was called "Good Wives", which told the story of the March women when they were adults. 

A few years later, it was published as one book, divided into two parts, and called "Little Women". That is how we know it today. Part one is the original "Little Women" book and part two is the original "Good Wives".

I enjoyed reading the entire book, but Chapter 40 when Beth dies was especial poignant. No other chapter in any other book I've read has ever touched me so deeply. Although I already knew what was going to happen, I cried a river of tears. It wasn't just Beth's passing that made me cry; it was more so the close relationship she had with one of her sisters and the moments they shared moments before Beth's passing. It was poetry (literally).

I then decided to watch two movie adaptations - 1994 and 2019. I had read that the 2019 was better than the first, although they were both good. So I decided to save the best for last. I watched the 1994 version first, which is a retelling of the story, as most adaptations are. It wasn't great, but it was good and I enjoyed it. As most adaptations go, however, the book was better.

Then I watched "Greta Gerwig's Little Women" from 2019 and was completely in awe. How this movie did not win Best Picture, I have no idea. I've never seen an adaptation of a book so masterfully and beautifully done. Rather than being linear, as most adaptations are, this one was circular. It starts out in the later years and throughout the movie it circles back to their childhood. It's a series of seamless flashbacks and flashforwards. And every character was played by the same actresses in the flashbacks and flashforwards. For example, Florence Pugh played Amy in both her childhood and her adulthood. I was amazed how believable they all were in both settings. Each transition from childhood days to adulthood was smooth, relaxed, and relevant. The childhood scenes were filmed in a warmer tone and the adulthood scenes were filmed in a cooler tone, so it was fairly easy to tell from that which were flashbacks and which were flashforwards. Greta Gerwig, clearly had an understanding of how their childhood influenced their adulthood and how they changed (and didn't change) over the years. And she shared that with us. The connection between their childhood and adulthood was what struck me the most about this film. 

Usually, but not always, books are better than their movie adaptations. In the case of "Greta Gerwig's Little Women" and the book, however, I cannot say one was better than the other. They complement each other. The movie only enhanced the experience I had with the book. I'll never need to watch another adaptation again of "Little Women", but I almost certainly will watch "Greta Gerwig's Little Women" again, along with reading the book again. The best time to read it and watch the movie is around Christmastime. However, there is really no bad time to read it and watch the movie. You'll be glad you experienced both.