Greta Gerwig is one of the few female directors currently getting more attention. In fact, she is doing extremely great having transitioned from acting to a directing career. With critics, audiences, and awards praising her so much, she is set to become one of the most well-known directors of our time.
So far, Gerwig only has two feature films (if you don't consider her directorial debut which she actually co-directed with Joe Swanberg), but both works have been massive successes. Which one is better? Here are 5 reasons why Lady Bird is better than Little Women (and 5 reasons why Little Women is).
Lady Bird: Originality
Unlike Lady Bird is an entirely original work. In fact, Greta Gerwig even got an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay as well as a BAFTA nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.
According to Gerwig, she drew a lot of inspiration from her own experiences which resulted in a 350-page-long screenplay at one point. The director said that nothing in the film actually helped in real life, but it is still somewhat semi-autobiographical.
Little Women: Cast
Lady Bird has three young actors who have been getting more attention recently: Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, and Lucas Hedges. Little Women, however, boasts a cast of both newcomers and experienced actors.
Saoirse Ronan played the title role yet with Timothee Chalamet also having a ing role. Other actors include Emma Watson (The Devil Wears Prada), and others.
Lady Bird: Aesthetic
Perhaps one of the reasons why Lady Bird works so well is that it feels like a very personal film. And the reason why it feels so personal is that it has a certain aesthetic to it.
Gerwig uses many vibrant and warm colors while also making the palette seem like your own neighborhood, a place where you could find yourself any time you go outside.
Little Women: Costume Design
With so many amazing costumes used in the film, it's no wonder that it won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design (though some have noted several historical inaccuracies concerning the dresses).
Like the settings, the costumes play here an important role in making the "look" of the film even more pleasing. In addition to that, costumes are important for the sisters who love acting and have to change themselves for the roles they are playing.
Lady Bird: Genre Subversion
One of the things you probably heard about Lady Bird is that it is a coming-of-age film that is done in a completely different way than what you would expect a coming-of-age film to be.
It's really incredible how different Christine's story is from all the other stories featured in such films. Yet, it feels like something anyone could experience allowing the audience to empathize with her even more.
Little Women: Soundtrack
Alexandre Desplat was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score for Little Women which is already a great reason to consider the soundtrack exceptional.
The tracks "Little Women" and "Amy" are particularly exceptional and reflect the themes and the mood of the film perfectly with their distinctive piano sounds.
Lady Bird: Jokes
Lady Bird is a little more lighthearted than Little Women which is probably why its jokes stand out more. Sometimes they are delivered in a serious manner yet hilarious nonetheless.
Moreover, these jokes are often used to tell something about the characters. For example, Christine purposefully falling out of the car during the argument with her mother is perfect for illustrating the kind of person she is.
Little Women: Characters
Christine and her mother Marion are obviously amazing with the actresses earning the Best Actress and Best ing Actress Academy Award nominations respectively. But Little Women features more interesting characters.
The sisters are always adorable with Amy finally getting a likable feature about her. Laurie is as cute as ever while Marmee and Aunt March are both strong maternal figures. The guys are also younger than in previous adaptations which makes their relationships with the sisters more relatable.
Lady Bird: Coming of Age
In a way, Little Women is also a coming-of-age story. In fact, the book has been included in some young adult and coming-of-age lists that a must-read for teenagers and young people.
However, Lady Bird remains the superior one when it comes to how well it shows the process of becoming an adult. To some extent, this is possible due to the focus on one character, Christine, instead of four different sisters.
Little Women: Cinematography
Lady Bird might have been Greta Gerwig's directorial debut with a modest budget, but it still managed to look impressive. Little Women, on the other hand, had a much bigger budget allowing it to have a more impressive picture.
The inside and the outside of the houses, the landscapes, the city, and the countryside - all of it feels real which helps the viewers to immerse themselves into that old atmosphere.
