I was probably the only person in the audience who didn’t care all that much for this adaptation. I know I didn’t care as much as one older gentleman who kept obnoxiously laughing at every minor cutesy scene. Besides, I am very fond of the 2017 PBS Masterpiece miniseries, so I cannot help but to compare. I don’t mind Saoirse Roman as Jo. Given all of her past work, she was a natural (if predictable) choice. I still liked Maya Hawke’s version more. There was more substance to her Jo March. Annes Elwy is more of a Beth to me. And I find it hilarious that Emma Watson, who can’t act her way out of a bag, was cast as a wannabe actress Meg. Every time she came on screen I cringed. The only exception for me was Florence Pugh, whose delightful portrayal of Amy overshadowed Kathryn Newton. But I am not surprised, because Pugh is quickly becoming one of my favourite actresses.
Same with the non-titular characters - Laurie, Marmee, Aunt March, - PBS had better casting.
As far as the direction goes, I hated the nonlinear plot. A lot of times it was hard to tell when we were looking at the past, or the present, and how old the characters were supposed to be in each scene. Whenever the director wanted to show sisterly love, she’d put on a scene full of chaos and giggles, and rolling on the floor laughing, and camera zigzagging between the twirling, chattering bodies. I guess chaos is perfect to guise the shallow characterization or underbaked scene setup. It’s a lazy way to show the relationship within the loving household.
The choppy shuffle of the scenes also made Laurie look like a terrible person. He was professing eternal love to Jo one moment, then fast forward one scene, and he is already in love with Amy. There needed to be a sensible length of time allocated for character growth to make sense of his change of heart, but the direction scrapped that idea.
With all of these negative elements, the new Little Women felt too long for me to bear. I was relieved when it was finally over.
loading replies
@wynter02 I agree that the non-linear plot was a terrible idea. It confused all those unfamiliar with the story, and annoyed those of us who are. Plus, I feel like this adaptation does the original story a great disservice by portraying Jo and Laurie's friendship as pretty superficial and not all that significant. Watching this movie has made me long to rewatch the miniseries!
An incredibly stupid series of events. Instead of using the key that would solve the problem in 2 seconds (the mind control one), they just repeatedly give the guy 50 different opportunities to hold each other hostage.
loading replies
@wynter02 I really enjoyed the episode, but that is mostly because I wanted to see the story of Sam unravel but I totally agree. They hold super powerful keys and don't use them to protect themselves AND manage to lose them!
Am I the only one who thinks that Villanelle and Eve have zero chemistry? This is supposed to be a story of fatal attraction, but instead we get Eve wandering around with a shell-shocked look on her face most of the time, and Villanelle doing crazy things for crazy sake. Even when Eve is conflicted about her feelings for her mortal enemy, she doesn't act conflicted, but more like a mad woman raving (ie cake scene, wth was that?). Wasted potential. This whole season was unnecessary and meandering for no reason. Not a single thing that happened propelled the story along. No wonder Niko checked out. I was prepared to take pitchfork to the neck not to suffer anymore too.
loading replies
@wynter02 They really don't have any chemistry. It's a fatal flaw amongst all the other flaws with this show. I think there's a lot of wish fulfilment going on with fans that ignores the onscreen reality as they could be a cute couple... They just aren't.
The part where the banished person reveals that they are indeed a faithful is absolutely hilarious. Everyone's reactions! Some observations:
I take it back, Alyssa and Amanda are so good at scheming, it's actually scary. Will is not doing himself any favors. He was much better at the beginning of the show, but he cracked under pressure once his name was dropped. Traitors are doing very well, but Will might become a weak link that takes them all down.
Poor Aaron, he is taking this all to heart! In fact, I think most contestants take this game much too seriously.
John turns from a sweet, friendly guy to a confrontational, "hand-in-your-face" backstabber on a dime... because someone asked him about his job? Okay then.
Maddy calling in FBI, because she thinks she so smart with her theories, is absolute gold.loading replies
John is actually so awful. The way he treated Aaron was disgraceful
