Little Women On Hulu Gives Dune Stars Their Greatest Acting Chops
Time Magazine said, in listing Greta Gerwig’s Little Women one the “100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades,” that the film stands as “proof that there are always new ways to tell old stories.” The cast is brilliant, the directing and writing are stunning, and the storyline is bold and beautiful. And the standout new (at the time) stars, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh, are reason enough to watch the movie over and over.
Old Characters Seen In New Ways
Louisa May Alcott’s novel from the 1860s is a beautiful treatise on the trials American women were subjected to at the time. The Civil War is raging, the great American sin, slavery, is coming to an end, political upheaval is rampant, and women are hoping for, at the very least, a voice.
The story of Little Women captures these moments with grace and compassion for virtually everyone involved. In the latest retelling, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women has given new life to two characters, Amy and Laurie, and Pugh and Chalamet get the chance to shine through them.
Amy
For almost 150 years of Little Women, we have sympathized with the dying Beth, we have been outraged for Jo, the brilliant writer who can’t seem to catch a break, and we’ve smiled along with sensible Meg, happily in love, even without money. But Amy has long been the brat.
In the book and in previous film versions, we rarely find ourselves sympathizing, empathizing, or even caring about Amy or Amy’s feelings. But Gerwig, through Pugh, changes all of that.
Pugh’s Brilliance
Florence Pugh is a star. Long before Black Widow, Don’t Worry Darling, Oppenheimer, or Dune, Pugh played a magnificent Amy. Yes, she’s still a bratty little sister furious at always playing second fiddle to Jo. But, in Gerwig’s Little Women, you get it.
Pugh is able to express Amy’s frustrations, her attempts to get some attention, her need for a little limelight. She’s headstrong without seeming mean, hurtful, or bullying. She’s angry without seeming vindictive or sinister. She plays the part of the willful little sister perfectly.
Chalamet
Timothee Chalamet, similarly. Is clearly growing into his acting skills in Little Women. Prior to this film, he tended to play entitled brats, like the drug addict son in Beautiful Boy or the playboy in Lady Bird. And as Laurie, a bit of an entitled brat, you can see how Gerwig would choose him for this role.
He’s very good at it. But, at the same time, Chalamet manages to give Laurie real angst, real longing, real heart. In the scene where Laurie begs Jo to love him, you want to cry for him. He manages to come off as desperate without being pathetic.
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REVIEW SCORE
So it is perfect that Amy and Laurie end up together, and you believe that they are truly in love. Greta Gerwig’s Little Women shows us that Amy and Laurie were always the two meant for each other. I would argue, it could only do so effectively with Pugh and Chalamet in those roles. And the critics seem to agree as they widely praised both actors for their parts.
How fitting then that after Little Women would end up together once more in the Dune films. Here’s hoping these two actors continue to make cinematic magic for us to watch. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be the next Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, or Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
