Meet Louisa May Alcott‘s lady birds.
In these debut photos (gallery below) and feature story from Vanity Fair, we have our first look at director Greta Gerwig‘s take on Little Women, one of the most beloved American novels of all time (and translated to the screen many times before).
In the sophomore follow-up to her Best Picture nominated Lady Bird, Gerwig adapts this classic favorite through her own personal lens, with an absolutely gorgeous cast of deep-bench talent, as well as having Alcott’s real-life experiences influence this telling.
- We wanted to explore as much of Louisa’s real story as we could,” Ronan says. Gerwig discovered that the Alcotts were in much more dire financial straits than the “genteel poverty” of the March sisters. Alcott was out working at the age of 15, and growing up in Boston, the family moved something like 30 times. “Her life was a lot darker than what she allowed for in the book,” she added. That lens adds drama to the moments when the March sisters step into a world of luxury.
Gerwig also wants this to feel as reall and immediate as possible, and not like a period piece:
- “They were just people. They were not in a period piece, they were just living,” Gerwig says. “They were the most modern people who had ever existed, up till that point.”
Gerwig’s Lady Bird lead Saoirse Ronan joins her again in the signature role of Jo, with the other three March sisters played by Emma Watson (Meg), Florence Pugh (Amy), and Eliza Scanlen (Beth).
Laura Dern co-stars as their mother Marmee and Meryl Streep pops in for good measure as the sisters’ Aunt Josephine. Bob Odenkirk, who plays the girls’ father, isn’t pictured but heartthrob Timothée Chalamet is (twice) as Laurie in all his swooning magnetism.
Shot on location in Massachusetts where the Alcott sisters grew up, Little Women will be at the top of many people’s Christmas list when it opens on December 25, 2019.
Click on any image for larger gallery
