Haley Palermo

Having watched all versions of Little Women, I’m a huge fan and was excited to see this version. However, I was sorely let down. The movie’s timeline was not linear and constantly jumped around. There were times I felt confused as to what the characters were doing because I was still thinking it was the same time period. I felt all the jumping around from past to present to further past weakened the relationships between Meg and John, Laurie and Jo (and then Amy), and Jo and Frederic. I love the connection I have felt between Frederic and Jo in previous versions, but did not feel the spark this time and their relationship was not believable. While I enjoyed the actresses who played the characters, I was most disappointed with Laurie’s portrayal. The young man was very boy-ish, looking no older than 17, and never appeared to grow physically nor mature. It was an unbelievable character and I was unable to take him seriously. Overall I was disappointed in the sequencing of the film which, I feel, weakened the characters and their interpersonal relationships. Actress/actor selection was well done with the exception of Laurie.