Little Women (2019) WEBDL 480p 720p & 1080p

Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, “Little Women,” has inspired a great number of adaptations. In fact, there were two attempts to pay tribute to the beloved book just last year, with a modern reimagining (starring Lea Thompson) and a BBC miniseries that made its way to PBS stations. There’s been a lot of “Little Women” recently, which is perhaps why writer/director Greta Gerwig has elected to shake things up for her version of Alcott’s work, taking a machete to the narrative to experiment with thematic emphasis, doing away with a natural build of emotion to make sure the movie is hers. Gerwig collects a decent cast and supports the effort with strong tech achievements, but her take on the March siblings and their tangles with love and loss is disappointing, mangling the magic of the source material.Living with their mother, Marmie (Laura Dern), the March sisters experience a tight bond while their father (Bob Odenkirk) is away, dealing with the Civil War. Jo (Saoirse Ronan) is a force of nature, barely containing a wild spirit of pure creativity, putting her imagination to paper with hopes to become a writer. Meg (Emma Watson) is the eldest, concerned with the path to marriage that’s expected of her, hoping to find love. Beth (Eliza Scanlen) is a meek soul with a musical gift who chooses to stay away from the whirlwind social lives of her sisters.And Amy (Florence Pugh) is the youngest, desperate to join in on the maturity others are experiencing. Living next door is Laurie (Timothee Chalamet), a lonely young man who’s fond of the March sisters, with particular interest in Jo. Over the years, the young women experience changes in their lives, with Laurie weaving in and out of view as they each strive to make sense of their potential, forced to go their separate ways.

“Little Women” is a classic story, and admittedly, it’s been done to death. Gerwig senses such potential staleness, but instead of emphasizing the feelings in play while tracking the growth of the characters, she decides to play with time, cutting back and forth between the little women and grown women. It’s a bizarre, nonlinear way to approach a story that’s utterly dependent on the growing pains of the central characters, understanding their hopes and dreams, and it’s immediately clear Gerwig’s in trouble during the first act, which joins the March story in-progress, finding Amy already in Europe with Aunt March (Meryl Streep), happening by Laurie on the street. She shares her condolences for his broken heart, having been rejected by Jo after professing his love for her — a scene that occurs roughly 105 minutes later.

“Little Women” is filled with sterile moments that, in Alcott’s book and other film adaptations, carried significant emotional weight. The reader/viewer was allowed to grow with the characters, getting to understand their wants and needs as they experienced numerous social and familial challenges. Gerwig ignores such development, and only those previously exposed to Alcott’s world will be able to follow the erratic time jumps, which limit characterization and destroy much of the heartache and household camaraderie that’s helped to sustain the original book for 150 years.

Highlights remain, including Jo and Laurie rescuing Amy from thin ice while skating, Beth’s piano dreams, and Meg’s social stress and love for a common man. Gerwig is attentive to individual scenes, laboring to extract elements of submission to examine the sisters as females facing the cruelty of a patriarchal world that wants none of their essence, but she’s botches character arcs, forcing the audience to experience what often plays like a trailer for the traditional version of “Little Women,” offering nuggets of joy and sorrow as known personalities become total strangers.

Gerwig made a big splash with 2017’s “Lady Bird,” which was an exceptional feature and an astute understanding of the female experience. She’s supported in “Little Women,” as Ronan is an ideal Jo, playing the character as a tireless creative type strapped into a straitjacket, unwilling to submit to gender demands despite feeling a burn for the comfort of love. Scanlen gives Beth necessary softness, making something out of a part that’s reduced in the final edit. And Chris Cooper nearly steals the movie as Laurie’s lonely father, presenting Gerwig with the film’s heart.

The picture is also lovingly designed, capturing seasonal changes and highly decorated living spaces. It’s an ideal dollhouse, but as a steady inspection of emotional evolution, sibling bonding and occasional rivalry, and profound self-analysis in an age of female docility, “Little Women” skips the soul of Alcott’s work to fuss over a frustrating exercise in needless creative ownership.