‘Music is like a ribbon that knits the storylines together’: The musicality of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women

Abstract

From concept to completion, music was integral to Greta Gerwig’s 2019 non-linear adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women, a story which traces the trials and tribulations of the four March sisters as they come of age in 1860s Massachusetts. As writer and director, Gerwig’s musical sensibilities position her as a mélomane and a cinematic verbalist. These descriptors pertain to the rhythmically notated dialogue, the musical invigoration of Beth March and how this sister’s musical characterization extends to Alexandre Desplat’s original score via his use of the piano. To appreciate the broader narrative, representational and filmgoing effects of Gerwig’s musical sensibilities, this article explores how music is evinced in the script and realized for the screen.