Little Women

Told with abundant affection, the eighth adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel reaches the screen courtesy of Lady Bird's Greta Gerwig. Evoking the ramshackle loveliness of Meet Me in St Louis, it's the story of the March sisters - including Saoirse Ronan's trailblazing tomboy Jo and Florence Pugh's petulant aspiring artist Amy - who are coming of age in 1860s New England. The giddy promise of girlhood and the triumphs and disappointments that follow are captured in a honey glow, accompanied by a vigorous Alexandre Desplat score that explodes with joy and sorrow. While keeping largely faithful to the text, Gerwig tweaks the structure and draws out the girls' strengths, freshening it up with some fluid camerawork and outbreaks of uninhibited laughter. Timothée Chalamet does some anguished pouting as love interest Laurie, while Meryl Streep appears as Aunt March and Laura Dern as Marmee - quite the acting ensemble. For a film-maker so in tune with contemporary concerns, it's surprising how emphatically Gerwig embraces the essence of the material; those expecting a radical reinvention may have to settle for being bowled over by charm.