Little Women (2018 film)

Little Women is a 2018 American drama film directed by Clare Niederpruem, from a screenplay by Niederpruem and Kristi Shimek. The sixth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's 1868–69 two-volume novel of the same name, it is a modern retelling of the original story and marks the 150th anniversary of the release of the book's first volume. The film stars Sarah Davenport, Allie Jennings, Lucas Grabeel, Ian Bohen, and Lea Thompson. It was released in the United States on September 28, 2018, by Pinnacle Peak.

Little Women
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClare Niederpruem
Written by
  • Clare Niederpruem
  • Kristi Shimek
Based onLittle Women
1868 novel
by Louisa May Alcott
Produced by
  • Maclain Nelson
  • Kristi Shimek
  • Stephen Shimek
  • David M. Wulf
Starring
CinematographyAnka Malatynska
Edited byKristi Shimek
Music byRobert Allen Elliott
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) (United States)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.4 million[1]

Plot

Set in the early 2000s, four siblings grow up together. Jo is an aspiring writer who travels to New York and eventually marries her professor, Freddy Bhaer. Beth plays the piano, has a battle against cancer throughout the movie, and eventually dies of leukemia. Amy becomes an internationally-renowned painter and marries Laurie Laurence. Meg, who struggles with wanting to be happily married versus being able to help with her family's finances, marries Laurie's former tutor and has twins.

Cast
  • Sarah Davenport as Jo March
    • Aimee Lynne Johnson as Young Jo
  • Allie Jennings as Beth March
    • Reese Oliveira as Young Beth
  • Melanie Stone as Meg March
  • Taylor Murphy as Amy March
    • Elise Jones as Young Amy
  • Lucas Grabeel as Theodore "Laurie" Laurence
  • Stuart Edge as John Brooke
  • Ian Bohen as Frederick "Freddy" Bhaer
  • Lea Thompson as Marmee March
  • Bart Johnson as Papa March
  • Adam Johnson as Duke Senior
  • Michael Flynn as Mr. Laurence
  • Barta Heiner as Aunt March

Production

In April 2017, it was announced Lea Thompson and Lucas Grabeel had joined the cast of the directorial debut of Clare Niederpruem, directing from a screenplay she wrote alongside Kristi Shimek, based upon the novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.[2] Maclain Nelson and Stephen Shimek will serve as producers on the film, while Chris Donahue and Marybeth Sprows, will executive produce the film under their Main Dog Productions and Paulist Productions banners, respectively.[3] In June 2017, Sarah Davenport and Ian Bohen joined the cast of the film.[4]

Principal photography began in June 2017, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[5]

Music

Track listing

Track listing adapted from IMDb[6]

Title Performed by written/arranged by produced by Courtesy/publishing
Little Bit of Grace Performed by Benj Heard Courtesy of The Music Bed, LLC
Angels We Have Heard On High Performed by Kayliann Traditional French Carol Lyrics written by James Chadwick, Arranged by Doug Lowe & Kayliann
I'm Getting Better All the Time Performed by Barbara Pittman Courtesy of The Music Bed, LLC
Count Bassy Written and Performed by Matt Mattson Written and Performed by Matt Mattson
Saturday Night Written and Performed by Stella Mwangi Written and Performed by Stella Mwangi Produced by Rumblin Music Courtesy of Badili Akili From the album Living for Music Published by Tono Norway
Single Performed by Sean & Blake Written by Santoy Campbell & Blake Andrew Produced by Mantra Beats
Stay Young Performed by Sean & Blake Written by Santoy Campbell & Blake Andrew Produced by Anthony Pisano
Human Right Performed by The Str!ke Written by Chris Crabb, Jarrett Burns, Jesse Williams & Chase Baker Published by The Str!ke, LLC
Auld Lang Syne Performed by Hannah Miller Courtesy of The Music Bed, LLC
Beautiful Day Performed by Lucas Grabeel Written by Chris Crabb and Jarrett Burns Courtesy of Jazzy Squares Inc. Publishing Courtesy of Banshee Inc. Publishing
Alive Performed by Tyrone Biggs Written by Tyrone Biggs, Josh Glazer, and Jonathan Muro
Get Up and Go Written and Performed by Stella Mwangi Written and Performed by Stella Mwangi Produced by Big City From the EP 'Stella Mwangi' Courtesy of Position Music/The Music Bed, LLC Published by Tono Norway
Swans Performed by The Format Written by Nate Ruess & Sam Means Courtesy of The Vanity Label Deck the Halls Performed by The Cast of Little Women
Traditional Welsh Carol Performed by Allie Jennings From the ballet Swan Lake Lyrics written by Thomas Oliphant Swan Lake, Op. 30 Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
When I Go Performed by Jessica Frech Written by Russell Dixon (BMI) & Scott Krippayne Pirk Music (BMI) Courtesy of Seven Stories Entertainment Inc.
Angels We Have Heard On High Performed by Allie Jennings & The Cast of Little Women Traditional French Carol Lyrics written by James Chadwick Courtesy of Raincoat Records Courtesy of Sea Boot Cafe Publishing
No Ordinary Life Performed by Gayle Skidmore Courtesy of Nicole Sheahan Music
Chapters of My Heart Written and Performed by Nicole Sheahan Written and Performed by Nicole Sheahan Courtesy of Lost Slipper Music Courtesy of Prize Pig Music Courtesy of Shakes Spear Music
Heartbeat Performed by Kayliann Written by Doug Lowe, Pete Sallis, & Kayliann
All the Things Performed by Lucas Grabeel Written by Lucas Grabeel Courtesy of 14341 Music Courtesy of Naked Banshee Publishing

Release

Release

In June 2018, it was announced Pinnacle Peak and Pure Flix Entertainment would distribute the film.[7] It was released in the United States on September 28, 2018.[8]

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Little Women was released alongside Smallfoot, Night School and Hell Fest, and was projected to gross $3–5 million from 643 theaters in its opening weekend.[9] It ended up grossing just $747,000, finishing 16th at the box office.[10]

Critical response

According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 30% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "This updated version of Little Women may hold some appeal for newcomers, but fans of the classic source material have far better adaptations to choose from."[11] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, "For devotees, the essence of the Little Women story remains, and, for newcomers, it is a sweet film that should inspire them to explore the book and the more traditional adaptations."[13] But Elizabeth Weitzman of The Wrap gave it low marks, writing, "The girls in this contemporary retelling ... are not messy and complex human beings but Hallmark Channel characters, two-dimensional symbols of virtuous nostalgia."[14] Faith-based reviewers were more generous. Kristin Smith of Plugged In said the film "illustrates the importance of loving one another, of practicing forgiveness and of moving forward despite difficult times."[15] Michael Foust of Crosswalk wrote that "unlike other modern-day film adaptations that spoiled a classic, Little Women is an updated version that doesn’t ruin what made the original great. ... Here’s hoping [Niederpruem] makes many more like this one."[16]

References
  1. "Little Women (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. "An Interview with Clare Niederpruem, Writer and Director of Little Women". Movie Ranker. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  3. Busch, Anita (April 27, 2017). "Lea Thompson To Star In New Feature Adaptation Of 'Little Women'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  4. N'Duka, Amanda (June 8, 2017). "Ryan Hansen To Co-Star In 'Bum Deal'; Ian Bohen Joins 'Little Women'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  5. P. Means, Sean (April 30, 2017). "Modern take on 'Little Women' to be filmed in Utah". The Salt Lake City Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  6. Little Women (2018) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-24
  7. "Pinnacle Peak to Release Modern Retelling of Timeless Family Story "Little Women" In Theaters Sept. 28". PR Newswire. June 14, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  8. Hamby, Dewayne (June 28, 2018). "TRAILER: First Look at Modern Retelling of 'Little Women' Starring Lea Thompson". Patheos. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  9. McNary, Dave (September 9, 2018). "Kevin Hart-Tiffany Haddish's 'Night School' to Score High Marks in Box Office Debut". Variety. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  10. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 30, 2018). "'Night School' Top Of The Weekend's Box Office Class With $28M; Best Opening For A Comedy So Far This Year". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  11. "Little Women (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  12. "Little Women (2018) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  13. Minow, Nell. "Little Women Movie Review & Film Summary (2018) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  14. "'Little Women' Film Review: Contemporary Take on Literary Classic Feels More Old-Fashioned Than the Original". TheWrap. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  15. "Plugged In". Plugged In. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  16. "5 Reasons You Should Watch the Newest Little Women". Crosswalk.com. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
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