The world is a difficult place, and it seems like it reminds us of that on a near-daily basis. That’s why cathartic art has never felt more necessary–because we could all use the warm hug of familiarity and nostalgia right about now. Thankfully, Greta Gerwig and Sony Pictures heard our pleas, because they just released the first trailer for their new version of Little Women, and nothing has ever felt more perfectly welcome. This thing is stacked with pleasantries, famous people, and beautiful moments.
Gerwig wrote and directed this version of Louisa May Alcott’s seminal novel, about the March sisters–Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy–and their coming of age during the Civil War. Jo (Saoirse Ronan) is the feisty leader, determined to be a famous writer and provide for herself and her beloved family. Meg (Emma Watson) is the eldest and the natural caregiver, who remembers when the family had money before the war and longs to get back to that easier way of life. Beth (Eliza Scanlen) is the meek and quiet sister, whose grave illness has a huge impact on all of the Marches. And Amy (Florence Pugh) is the artist of the family, who transforms from a bratty teen to a self-assured young woman over the course of the story. Laura Dern plays the girls’ mother, Marmee, with Bob Odenkirk as their father, Mr. March, and Meryl Streep as their rich and crass aunt, Aunt March.Little Women also reunites Saoirse Ronan with her Lady Bird co-star Timothée Chalamet, who plays next door neighbor Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, a wealthy young man who becomes Jo’s best friend and will-they-won’t-they love interest. That relationship is made even more complicated by Professor Bhaer (Louis Garrel), who nurtures Jo’s passions and creative life–much to Laurie’s dismay. Gerwig directed Ronan and Chalamet in Lady Bird, so this feels like a big family reunion. (Sorry Lucas Hedges.)
This trailer is exactly what the doctor ordered: Whimsical and light and full of everything we love about this story.
Little Women arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.
Header Image: Sony Pictures