Little Women (1994)

80%

Fine proto-feminist rendering of the novel marred only by some mediocre performances – especially from Christian Bale, Claire Danes and - ostensible star - Winona Ryder. However, Trini Alvarado and Kirsten Dunst steal the show (& save the day) with their respective roles as the sensible, conformist marrying kind and the precocious schoolgirl.

Despite this, the quality of the production values and of the writing carry the day in a plot that would probably have benefited from being longer and feeling less like a Readers' Digest version of the book. Nevertheless, this is filmmaking of a high order that respects both the source novel and the maturity & intelligence of its audience. A clever riposte to those who believe women are nothing without a man: These women do quite well without the absent father off fighting the American Civil War.

Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.