Tag: Romance

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ABC Film Challenge – Romance – L – Lady Macbeth (2016) Movie Review

Director: William Oldroyd

Writer: Alice Birch (Screenplay) Nikolai Leskov (Based on Lady Macbeth Mtsensk)

Starring: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton, Naomi Ackie, Christopher Fairbank, Golda Rosheuvel

Plot: In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Typical Period Piece

Story: Lady Macbeth starts as young Katherine (Pugh) has been sold to Alexander (Hilton) an older man that orders her around his house, waiting for the unpleasantry of being forced into sex every night, with her just doing nothing around the house all day.

With her husband away on business and her maid Anna (Ackie) watching over her, Katherine decides to see what is going on with the rest of the help, starting an affair with Sebastian (Jarvis) one of the groomsmen, one that puts a smile on her face for once, which soon has dire consequences.

Thoughts on Lady Macbeth

Characters – Katherine is the young woman sold to an older man to be his wife, she is left in an empty unfulfilled life which follows a routine which only leaves her alone most of the time. When she finds herself alone, she starts an affair which changes her attitude to stand up for herself, wanting equal within her home. Sebastian is the groomsman that starts an affair with Katherine, he doesn’t want to get caught knowing it would be his neck if he was, though he does love what he has with Katherine. Alexander is the husband that is strict and demanding towards Katherine, he goes away leaving her alone. Anna is the maid to Katherine that knows what she is doing, but wouldn’t say anything against her,

Performances – Florence Pugh is great in the leading role, you can see she is going onto bigger thing with this performance. Most of the rest of the performances are strong through the film, they let Florence lead the film though.

Story – The story here follows a young lady that is sold into a loveless marriage only to start an affair which will see her going into a new direction with her life to help her find happiness. This is an interesting story that does follow the period drama one to start with before taking a dramatic turn which will make it stand out from others, only it just doesn’t seem to show enough to make us truly get invested in this character of Katherine and her action. This does at least try to be different, only it just isn’t that much that we can care about for the story side of things.

Romance – The romance side of the film shows how one young lady will do anything for love, no matter what is happening in her life or what will happen if she does it.

Settings – The film does use the settings well, showing us just how the house away from the rest of the village, adds the isolation that Katherine would be feeling.


Scene of the Movie – Caught red handed.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There could have been a lot more from the story.

Final Thoughts – This is a typical period piece that does have a minor twist on the normal, which doesn’t add that much by the end of the film.

Overall: Period Piece 101.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Romance – K – All Good Things (2010) Movie Review

We are under K because of the star Kirsten Dunst.

Director: Andrew Jarecki

Writer: Marcus Hinchey, Marc Smerling (Screenplay)

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Lily Rabe, Philip Baker Hall, Michael Esper, Diane Venora, Nick Offerman

Plot: Mr. David Marks was suspected but never tried for killing his wife Katie who disappeared in 1982, but the truth is eventually revealed.


Tagline – The Perfect Love Story. Until It Became The Perfect Crime.

Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Lacks Focus

Story: All Good Things starts as we see David Marks (Gosling) the son of a property tycoon Sanford (Langella) who meets Katie (Dunst) who eventually becomes his wife, only for the perfect marriage to take a turn when Katie learns David doesn’t want to have kids.

The marriage continues to spiral out of control after Katie gets pregnant, with her disappearance being the reason why David sees his own life come under the spotlight, with people believing her murdered her and he doesn’t help his case.

Thoughts on All Good Things

Characters – David Marks comes from a property tycoon family who could have walked into any job for his father, he decides to go away from this lifestyle, dating a woman before marrying her, which shows a darker side to his nature, or is he just cold, he are never let into see if he is a calculated person or just somebody dealing with the issues bought on from his mother’s suicide. Katie is the woman David marries, she does give up her career and after learning of his own life decision, spirals out of control with drinks and drugs, before disappearing without a trace. Sanford is the father of David who wants him to remain in the wealthy lifestyle following in his footsteps over anything else. We do see many other people who are involved in the lives who have been involved in the lives even if the names have been changed.

Performances – We have a brilliant cast on paper here with Ryan Gosling in the leading role, where he really doesn’t show his skills, Kirsten Dunst does the most with her character, only it seems we don’t get the right outlet for the character, where we also seem to waste Frank Langella too.

Story – The story follows a heir to a successful business that marries a women his family don’t approve of, only for her to go missing, with him being the prime suspect in the disappearance. The problems mount up quickly in this story because we do spend way too much time focusing on the early relationship and not enough time on the investigation to what might have happened, this is clearly the more interesting side of the story that we need to get watching before needing to care that much about their relationship as a hole.

Crime/Mystery/Romance – The crime is more about if, buts or maybes, with no concrete evidence to what might have happened, which shows in the mystery not being solved in the film, while the romance starts strong before showing why it might not have worked out.

Settings – The film uses a couple of settings which shows us the luxury lakeside house the couple have, while showing how they interact with people on a social occasion in the big parties.


Scene of the Movie – Strange new friendship.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not enough focus on the disappearance investigation.

Final Thoughts –This does feel like a film that gets caught up following the wrong part too easily, we don’t seem to get any clues to what did actually happen, just following the man’s life for large parts both before and after the disappearance.

Overall: Disappointing mystery.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Romance – J – Aladdin (2019) Movie Review

This is under J because it is about Aladdin trying to win Jasmine’s heart.

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writer: Guy Ritchie, John August (Screenplay)

Starring: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnuessen

Plot: A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.


Tagline – Choose wisely.

Runtime: 2 Hour 8 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Lacks the Magic

Story: Aladdin starts as we meet the street urchin Aladdin (Massoud) who is always looking to make his meal ticket with his quick hands, saving Jasmine (Scott) who is pretending to be a local, escaping from her strict father’s (Negahban) rules, experience the thrill of the city. Jafar (Kenzari) is scheming to make his own plans for when the Sultan is gone, waiting for make his own move on Princess Jasmine, against her own mother’s kingdom.

After being caught in the act by Jafar forces Aladdin on his own search for treasure, in search of the lamp with will give him power, only Aladdin keeps the lamp for himself, where he meets the Genie (Smith) who grants him wishes, where he must master the power behind it.

Thoughts on Aladdin

Characters – Aladdin is a street urchin that has quick hands which keeps food available for him, he gets a chance meeting with the rebellious princess, falling in love, showing his honest ways, only he is too poor to be considered anybody that could be with her. He gets forced to steal the magic lamp only to be betrayed and left for dead. Once he learns the power of the lamp, he tries to use it to win Jasmine’s heart, whatever the cost, not being like the other princes that try to win her heart. Princess Jasmine has been held away from the world by her strict father who is scared for her life until she marries a prince, she doesn’t want to just marry royalty, she wants to become her own leader to the people of her city. Genie is who comes out of the lamp to offer Aladdin the three wishes, he does explain how the wishes unfold and wants to help Aladdin create the best wishes, using her natural charisma. Jafar is the second in command of the city, he is planning his own rise to rule the city, with or without Jasmine on his arm.

Performances – This movie does have a string of performances that have glimpses from Naomi Scott and Will Smith, only we don’t see everything we could about them, while Mena Massoud lacks the spark for the Aladdin we have known, while Marwan Kenzari just doesn’t come off as evil as he should.

Story – The story here follows a street urchin who finds a magical lamp and uses it to hopefully win the heart of the princess of the kingdom, where he must learn his own responsibility about life isn’t just about the power of three wishes. Being a remake of the animation, we know where the story will go and it doesn’t differ to any major levels and does continue to show the important message, power and money won’t by you happiness, while showing strict rules that could be broken for somebody to have their own happiness when it comes to position in power.

Fantasy/Romance – We do get the fantasy side of this film follows the idea of a genie granting wishes, which is interesting, only not fully expressed, while the romance is there and is more about breaking down the walls over anything.

Settings – The film does us the settings to show us the different world that Aladdin and Jasmine are from, with the cave being such a wonderful location too, only we don’t spend enough time there.

Special Effects – The effects in the film have moments looking amazing, only for them to not look that great all the way through.


Scene of the Movie – The cave.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Aladdin and Jafar just aren’t interesting enough.

Final Thoughts – This just is just like a glossy remake that just doesn’t have the magic it should leaving us feel like we have missed out on something bigger and better.

Overall: Simple and not enjoyable.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Romance – F – Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) Movie Review

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Writer: David Nicholls (Screenplay) Thomas Hardy (Novel)

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple

Plot: In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Costume Drama 101

Story: Far from the Madding Crowd starts as we meet the independent Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan) who works on a family farm, with the neighbour of a shepherd Gabriel Oak (Schoenaerts) who becomes friends, leading to her first marriage proposal, only for her to refuse, wanting to remain independent.

After a tragic twist of events, Gabriel loses his farm, just as Bathsheba inherits her own farm, where Gabriel ends up working on. Bathsheba does continue to turn heads with William Boldwood (Sheen) being the latest man that wants to marry her and things get even more complicated when Sergeant Francis Troy (Sturridge) arrive on the property, leaving Bathsheba having three men wanting her love.

Thoughts on Far from the Madding Crowd

Characters – Bathsheba Everdene has always worked for a living, she has always wanting to remain independent, which sees her reject the first marriage proposal. She always attractions attention, even if that means she becomes everything she promised not to be. She will run a farm and isn’t afraid to get her own hands dirty, wanting to be fair to everybody who works for her too. Gabriel Oak is the quiet farmer that becomes friends with Bathsheba, he asks her to marry him before getting rejected and losing everything he owns, in a twist of events he ends up working for her, being her most loyal farmer, always putting the farm before rank. William Boldwood is a wealthy older man in town that wants to offer Bathsheba a chance to be his wife, he comes off fair with his offer, giving her the remaining independence, she requires. Sergeant Francis Troy is a full of himself soldier that has seen his love not turn up for their wedding, before turning his charm onto Bathsheba making her fall for everything he sells her on, never being the man she could be happy with.

Performances – Carey Mulligan is great in the leading role, showing she is one of the go to actresses for a costume drama, while Matthias Schoenaerts continues to prove himself as one of the best actors in the business, Michael Sheen shines in the supporting role, while Tom Sturridge makes you want to hate his arrogant character.

Story – The story here follows the lives of a farmers daughter and a neighbouring father as their fortunes change putting boundaries in their lives, when it comes to love and friendship. This is based on a classic Thomas Hardy novel and puts us into a world before women were allowed to independently think, with Bathsheba designed to go against the trends placed on front of her, only she doesn’t seem to make smart decisions, still trying to play into the traditions of what is known. The three love stories only have one of the three men being a sensible pick, with that same one being the only one with any sort of romantic connection about them. It doesn’t feel like this is anything we haven’t seen before, which just plays into the same old story we see all the time.

Romance – The romance shows how Bathsheba must make up her mind on three potential partners, all from different background, even though she only has a spark with one of them.

Settings – The film shows the farming like in the 1800’s and just what it would have meant to the people who run the farms, trying to find love and break boundaries.


Scene of the Movie – The storm.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Bathsheba does everything wrong in love.

Final Thoughts – This is a typical costume drama which shows how the love felt should have just been followed, instead of leading us down a trail that was always going nowhere.

Overall: Costume Drama we have seen before.

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ABC Film Challenge – Romance – D – The Darkest Universe (2016) Movie Review

Director: Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe

Writer: Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe (Screenplay)

Starring: Will Sharpe, Tiani Ghosh, Joe Thomas, Sophie Di Martino, Raph Shirley, Chris Langham, Sharon D Clarke

Plot: THE DARKEST UNIVERSE is BAFTA-nominated directors Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley’s surreal and hilarious follow-up to the critically acclaimed BLACK POND. Described by Sharpe and Kingsley as ‘a romantic comedy set in space, or – to be more specific – planet Earth’, the film follows world-weary banker Zac on his search for his eccentric sister, Alice, who goes missing while on a narrowboat trip with her new boyfriend. Poignant, funny and thought-provoking in equal measure, The Darkest Universe is an otherworldly and truly original gem of a movie from two of the UK’s freshest young directors.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Charming

Story: The Darkest Universe starts when Zac (Sharpe) starts the search for his autistic sister Alice (Ghosh) who has vanished on her boat with her boyfriend Toby (Thomas), we see how he gets the authorities involved, while placing posters along the canal, where she could have travelled along.

As the search continues, we learn more about the relationship Alice started and more about how Zac is putting his own life on hold in search for her, getting nowhere starting to push his friends and partner Eva (Di Martino) away.

Thoughts on The Darkest Universe

Characters – Zac is the brother who is desperately trying to find his sister, he has always loved her and cared for her and now she has gone missing he feels guilty for not being there for her, he creates a campaign to find her, he pushed people in his life away with his search. Alice is the autistic sister that has managed to cope with her own life with minimal care needed, only she does have her brother around if she needs him, she starts a relationship with Toby, the first person that understands her, she has gone missing, which puts concern in her brother’s life. Toby is the boyfriend of Alice, he understands her and helps her enjoy life more, he has gone missing with her though. Eva is the partner of Zac who is getting tired with having the pressure of Alice in Zac’s life.

Performances – Will Sharpe in the leading role is strong, we get to understand his concern and his own problems he is going through as a character. Tiani Ghosh does well giving us a true to life character you would imagine seeing, with the rest of the cast doing a good job through the film.

Story – The story here follows a brother in desperate search for his lost sister, which sees him questioning his own life and seeing what may have caused her to disappear in the first place. This is a story that focuses on siblings relationship, while showing how close family can be when dealing with mental problems, with this one using autism, we see what is means to both having one around, with how big losing one would be to damaging somebody. The timeline is slightly confusing at times because we do bounce between the blossoming relationship Alice is having, to Zac’s search for her, this could be smoother for a better understand to why everything happened.

Comedy/Mystery/Romance – The comedy in this film comes from seeing how Zac goes about trying to find his sister, it is does in a quirky way that balances serious with desperation, with the big mystery about what happens to Alice being the biggest part of the movie.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the important locations for both Zac and Alice’s life, it shows that you can have memories in any locations in life.


Scene of the Movie – What really happened.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The timeline is messy.

Final Thoughts – This is a charming movie that shows siblings relationship will always have ups and downs, with the love between the two coming through strong.

Overall: Charming and Delightful.

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ABC Film Challenge – Romance – A – Along for the Ride (2000)

Director: John Kaye

Writer: John Kaye (Screenplay)

Starring: Melanie Griffith, Penelope Ann Miller, Patrick Swayze, Richard Schiff, Annie Corley, Lee Garlington, Michael J Pollard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Plot: A schizophrenic romantic tracks down her college sweetheart to help her find their son she gave up for adoption sixteen years ago to the dismay of his new wife.


Tagline – First Love Lasts Forever

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Feel Good Movie

Story: Along for the Ride starts when schizophrenic Lulu (Griffith) leaves her home to find her college sweetheart, Ben Clifton (Swayze) who has gone onto become a television screenwriter and married to Claire (Miller) with them both having a happy life together. Lulu comes in search of Ben to drop a bombshell on him, they have a child and that is the reason she left the home to see him on his 16th birthday for the first time.

As Ben reluctantly agrees to go on the trip, Claire is left torn with their own past dealing with the grief the two experienced between the two.

Thoughts on Along for the Ride

Characters – Lulu is the schizophrenic woman that has lived in a home to help her manage her condition, until she decides to leave without any warning, she wants to find Ben to face something from their past, a child she had kept secret for years from everybody else, she has been managing her condition, but her outbursts are clear that she can’t handle being alone in life, with the moment potentially being the biggest challenge of her life. Ben is a screenwriter that is happily married despite having their own tragedy in the family, she is Lulu’s ex from decades before and learns the bombshell they have a kid and must travel across country to meet him with Lulu, putting his career and own marriage on the line. Claire is the wife of Ben who gets even more concerned about him running of with Lulu, she has been dealing their own person problems her own way, which is why she is even more worried about Ben and wants to stop something she thinks is going to happen, happen.

Performances – Melanie Griffith is great in the role, playing a difficult character and showing both sides of her character’s personality with ease. Patrick Swayze is great too, showing us just how difficult grief can be for people. Penelope Ann Miller as the wife who is concerned about her marriage is everything you want from a character that is feeling distant.

Story – The story here follows a schizophrenic woman that turns to an ex-lover to travel across country to meet their son, one he never knew they had, putting his own career and marriage on the line to help his former partner. This story does show how much love can last forever, no matter how long you are apart and that a mother will always give everything to show love to their child even if they haven’t been able to spend any time with them. We see how a marriage could be put in a difficult position because of a tragic event that nobody involved could have planned for. We have a mix of a road tip and reconnection and dealing with the past in this story, which is all handled well, with the schizophrenic character showing us just how easily it can be switched on and off without any control.

Romance – The romance side of the film follows the idea of what once was there and what could have been there more, along with how people move on a fall in love again. We look into more adult relationships rather than the whirlwind that comes from first falling in love.

Settings – The film does have a road trip setting which sees the characters travelling across America, we don’t go for any big landmarks, which at times doesn’t help understand the scale of the distant being travelled.


Scene of the Movie – The Hustler screening.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Freddie.

Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable road trip movie that has an excellent cast, with strong performances throughout, one to be watch by the fans of the stars.

Overall: Enjoyable throughout.

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Tobey Maguire Weekend – Labor Day (2013) Movie Review

Director: Jason Reitman

Writer: Jason Reitman (Screenplay) Joyce Maynard (Novel)

Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Tom Lipinski, Maika Monroe, Clark Gregg, James Van Der Beek

Plot: Depressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride. As police search town for the escaped convict, the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.

Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Lifeless

Story: Labour Day starts when single mother Adele (Winslet) who has become depressed hiding from the world with her son Henry (Griffith) who is used to her routine, on the latest trip to the store, the pair meet Frank (Brolin) an escaped criminal looking for somewhere to hide out.

Instead of continuing his escape plan, Frank ends up staying with two, as she starts to show Adele a good time, showing he is a nice guy, only the known murder charge left on his head, is only putting a toll on the relationship between Adele and Henry.

Thoughts on Labour Day

Characters – Adele is the depressed single mother that has seen her husband leave and start a new life, leaving her with their only son, she doesn’t like to leave the house and when she does, she will follow a strict routine, until Frank starts to show her something different in life. Frank is a criminal who escaped from prison while receiving medical treatment, he uses Adele and Henry to hide out, where he shows himself to be a nice person capable of being part of a family, giving Adele hope she never imagined. Henry is the teenage boy that has been helping his mother through her struggles, he does spend one day a week with his father and now he is starting to find himself in a position where he might be getting replaced by Frank, leading him to feel insecure about his own future with his mum.

Performances – A film that has Kate Winslet in the leading role should be elevated, while her performance does this, she can’t save the film, neither can Josh Brolin who fails to make the big impact required. Gattlin Griffith does well for the youngster next to the big names, being the most interesting of the characters in the film.

Story – The story here follows a depressed single mother that takes in a convict on the run and the two start to fall in love, helping her get out of her slump in life. This story isn’t the most interesting with the idea being that two people from different worlds could make each other happy even though we can see how many problems them being together could have with them being together. The story is told from a grown up son’s point of view, which shows how at the time he doesn’t understand everything, but now he understands everything that is going on.

Romance – The romance side of the film shows the two falling in love slowly despite being in different stages of life.

Settings – The film is mostly set in the family home, with Frank being unable to be seen outside of the house, this keeps everything together for what is going on without needing the usual over the top romantic gestures.


Scene of the Movie – Cooking.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Pacing.

Final Thoughts – This is a dull romantic drama that even with a-list stars, just doesn’t save this from being enjoyable.

Overall: Dull throughout.

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Can You Keep a Secret? (2019) Movie Review

Director: Elise Duran

Writer: Peter Hutchings (Screenplay) Sophie Kinsella (Novel)

Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Tyler Hoechlin, Kimiko Glenn, Laverne Cox, Suntia Mani, Kate Easton, Judah Friedlander

Plot: Thinking they’re about to crash, Emma spills her secrets to a stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger…Until she later meets Jack, her company’s young CEO, who now knows every humiliating detail about her. Based on the blockbuster NYT bestseller.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Charmingly Entertaining

Story: Can You Keep a Secret? Starts when a junior marketing assistant Emma Corrigan (Daddario) is having a truly nightmarish day and her flight home does have a perk, getting bumped to first class, only turbulence causes her to admit every secret in her life to a stranger.

The problem for Emma comes the next day when that stranger turns out to be the owner of her company Jack (Hoechlin) who is visiting and the two make a deal to keep everything a secret.

Thoughts on Can You Keep a Secret?

Characters – Emma is a junior marketing assistant, she is on her first assignment which goes terribly wrong, she thinks she is about to lose out on a promotion until her flight home sees her get a free upgrade to first class, her fear of flying strikes when turbulence hits unleashing her to reveal all her secrets to a complete stranger, only to learn that this stranger is her boss, Emma starts to think about her own life, seeing that her ordinary life isn’t everything she wants in life. Jack Harper is the boss of the company, he is one half of the partnership which made the company and he is coming to see how people are operating in his business and his visit sees him getting close to Emma, in a way he hasn’t done before, he does keep his secrets closer than most, which goes against everything Emma has revealed to him. We do meet the best friends in Gemma and Lissy that get laughs in their own ways and the co-workers that will get the laughs but show the struggles Emma is feeling.

Performances – Alexandra Daddario is great in the leading role, she brings to life the often clumsy awkward character with ease, with Tyler Hoechlin working very well in the love interest role, when it comes to the supporting cast, we do get a couple of laughs through the film filling their roles with ease knowing how to get the laughs or hearts required.

Story – The story here follows a marketing woman who ends up going to make a fool of herself revealing her secrets to a stranger only to learn he is the boss of her company and a new romance comes from their new friendship. The story is based on a best selling novel which does show us how hard falling in love can be, shows that being with somebody doesn’t mean you are in love and life can’t just pass you by, you need to take a run and jump to make the most of it. The story is told in a charming and enjoyable way that we can enjoy and relate too.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy comes from seeing how Emma reacts to everything that is happening to her in her life, with the romance being what makes her enjoy her life more.

Settings – The film uses New York as the setting, I don’t know how many times I say, I love this for a setting for romance because of how you never know who you will meet.


Scene of the Movie – The play.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sometimes Gemma doesn’t feel like a real person.

Final Thoughts – This is a charmingly entertaining romantic comedy that will get plenty of laughs throughout, showing the heart required for a film.

Overall: The Secrets Out, This is a Treat.

Can You Keep A Secret? will be available on Digital Download from 4th May and can be be pre-ordered

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Movie Review

Little Women (2019) Movie Review

Director: Greta Gerwig

Writer: Greta Gerwig (Screenplay) Louisa May Alcott (Novel)

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk

Plot: Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on their own terms.


Tagline – Own your story

Runtime: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Not My Type of Film

Story: Little Women starts as we meet Jo March (Ronan) who is selling her first story anonymously to the paper, one of four sisters, with Amy (Pugh) an aspiring artists aiming for Paris, Meg (Watson) a dressmaker, and Beth (Scanlen) the musician, who have all grown up to want to achieve more than any women of their era could imagine.

As the four women looks to make their own identity, they all seem to fall for the charms of Laurie (Chalamet) who at different times of their lives, pushes them down a path they shouldn’t have gone, as they look to break boundaries.

Thoughts on Little Women

Characters – Jo March is the author, the one telling the story about her sisters lives, living in New York away from the family, using her writing abilities to make a name for herself, she is the oldest of the girls and usually watches out for them. Meg is the dressmaker that has followed a more traditional life of marriage over following the dreams like the others. Amy is the youngest member of the March family, an artist who wants to be in Paris for her work, she often has learnt from her sisters decisions, being left behind at times, looking for attention when the older ones are invited to events she isn’t. Beth is the musical one, she is the shiest and her timid nature makes her the one you will learn the least about. Marmee is the mother of the girls that is always there when they need someone, she will encourage them to achieve greatness in their lives. Laurie is the young man that seems to be involved with all of the girls, his character confuses me a lot, because he decides he loves each of them over the course of the film.

Performances – Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh got the Oscar nominations for their performances, they are the two strongest of the performers in the film, while Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen don’t get enough time to shine on the same level, Laura Dern is great impact performer, while Timothee Chalamet does everything he character is meant to, even though he confuses me with what is going on.

Story – The story here follows four sisters as they look to follow their ambitious and become experts in their fields of different arts, only they must battle against the era that claims a woman can only be around for love, something they all look to have to go with their successful ideas. This is based on a classic novel that is considered one of the greatest ever written, the story shows how women wanted to make a different becomes something not just wives, this is important to see in the modern times too. Where this story doesn’t seem to work is the constant time jumps, spending most of the time talking about not wanting to get married only for the next scene to be all about love, this is confusing at times, with the character of Laurie that doesn’t seem to make sense either. I can see that I am not the target audience for this film, which is why it is harder to get any sort of enjoyment in the story.

Romance – The romance in the film focuses on the four women who want to have careers and will end up falling in love along the way, it still feels more arranged, rather than natural love.

Settings – The film uses the settings wonderfully to make us feel like we are part of the era, experience houses in the countryside.


Scene of the Movie – We could have a hit.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Laurie is a confusing character.

Final Thoughts – This is a film that is doesn’t seem to be hit what I enjoy watching, it has strong acting, though the story is hard to follow at times though.

Overall: Not My Thing.