Are you prepared to stan Greta Gerwig's adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic Little Women? Because that is the only choice you have.
In Vanity Fair's exclusive preview of the film, featuring photos and interviews with the A-list cast, Gerwig proves that her vision for the classic novel is one will appeal to every actual woman (and man) on the planet. It stars Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, and Eliza Scanlen, and is told through the lens of Gerwig's adolescence. (“This feels like autobiography,” Gerwig told the magazine. “When you live through a book, it almost becomes the landscape of your inner life. … It becomes part of you, in a profound way.”)
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But beyond Gerwig's own profound connection to the March sisters and their coming-of-age stories, the Lady Bird director also found new ways to showcase certain aspects of the original text.
“Jo is a girl with a boy’s name, Laurie is a boy with a girl’s name,” Gerwig said. “In some ways they are each other’s twins.” Leaning into this, the film's costume director Jacqueline Durran had the two actors subtly exchange items of clothing throughout the movie, further blurring the lines between where Jo begins and Laurie ends. “They find each other before they’ve committed to a gender,” she continued. “It wouldn’t be wrong to call Saoirse handsome and Timothée beautiful. Both have a slightly androgynous quality that makes them perfect for these characters.”
Of course, to keep this fairly #SpoilerFree (come on, read the book), I won't reveal how this tethered friendship is ultimately frayed, but just know that Lady Bird does ultimately get her revenge on Kyle Scheible. “I loved that in Lady Bird, he was the one that broke my heart, but I got to break his heart in Little Women,” Ronan joked.
We love our beautiful and handsome best friends.
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