Greta Gerwig’s Little Women gets a first trailer, bringing the March sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — to life.
The Louisa May Alcott novel is a staple of American literature and has had numerous film, television, stage, and radio adaptations. It follows the lives of four sisters, starting in their adolescence in the midst of the Civil War and seeing them through to adulthood. The 1994 version starred Winona Ryder as Jo March, with Kirsten Dunst as Amy and Christian Bale as neighbor Laurie.
The 2019 redux has Saoirse Ronan as Jo, with Lady Bird co-star Timothée Chalamet as Laurie. Emma Watson (Harry Potter) plays dutiful eldest sister Meg, Florence Pugh (Midsommar) as the dramatic youngest daughter Amy, with Sharp Objects’ Eliza Scanlen as timid Beth. Laura Dern (Big Little Lies) rounds out the cast as the March family matriarch Marmie, with Meryl Streep as the crotchety Aunt March.
The trailer centers on the sisterly relationships and shows off some of the iconic scenes of the book (Laurie’s confession! Meg’s burnt hair!). It also touches on each sister’s separate dreams — and the overwhelming pressure for young women of the time to discard those dreams and get married instead.
“If the main character is a girl,” says a stern-faced editor to aspiring writer Jo, “make sure she’s married by the end.”
Greta Gerwig’s Little Women comes out on Dec. 25.
