In America in the aftermath of the Civil War, the five women of the March family; mother and wife Marmee (Laura Dern) whose husband (Bob Odenkirk) is away doing Civil War missionary work, and their four daughters – Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen), and Amy (Florence Pugh) – fend for themselves in a situation of genteel poverty. Jo flirts with the dilletante Laurie (Timothee Chalamet) while developing an obsession for writing. Later in time, the story follows as Meg has married penniless tutor, John Brooke (James Norton), and moved away; Beth is dying; Amy is in France with her wealthy aunt (Meryl Streep); and Jo is in New York, pursuing her writing and a romance with the accomplished German immigrant, Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel).

“If every generation deserves its own ‘Little Women’ adaptation, Greta Gerwig has done this one proud with a lively — if oddly nonlinear — retelling.” -Peter Debruge –Variety

“Because of the strength of the acting (Ronan’s in particular) and Gerwig’s unusual reworking of the novel’s chronology and ending, it deserves to be seen.” -James Berardinelli –Reelviews