Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Winona Ryder | ... | Jo March | |
Gabriel Byrne | ... | Friedrich Bhaer | |
Trini Alvarado | ... | Meg March | |
Samantha Mathis | ... | Older Amy March | |
Kirsten Dunst | ... | Younger Amy March | |
Claire Danes | ... | Beth March | |
Christian Bale | ... | Laurie | |
Eric Stoltz | ... | John Brooke | |
John Neville | ... | Mr. Laurence | |
Mary Wickes | ... | Aunt March | |
Susan Sarandon | ... | Mrs. March | |
![]() |
Florence Paterson | ... | Hannah |
![]() |
Robin Collins | ... | Carriage Boy |
![]() |
Corrie Clark | ... | Belle Gardiner |
Rebecca Toolan | ... | Mrs. Gardiner |
Louisa May Alcott's autobiographical account of her life with her three sisters in Concord, Massachusetts in the 1860s. With their father fighting in the American Civil War, sisters Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are at home with their mother, a very outspoken women for her time. The story tells of how the sisters grow up, find love and find their place in the world.
Superlative, mostly faithful adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's acclaimed novel of four impoverished teenage sisters who come of age in Civil War-era New England. The film chronicles ambitious scribe Jo, decorative, impressionable Meg, timid, musically inclined Beth, and artistic, precocious Amy, with emphasis placed on their relationship with their beloved "Marmee" and their growing bond with the playful, cultured boy next door as they attempt to make their way while their father is off fighting in the war. While devoted readers may have wished for an ending that was more in line with the novel, this is perfectly cast and brilliantly acted, with wonderful characters, a pinpoint sense of the time period, and genuine emotions that flow throughout the proceedings; a worthy adaptation indeed. ***