I think hidden agendas aside, as a film, I thoroughly liked this version. I’ve seen all versions and I consider 1994 to be the original just because it did almost everything right, but 2019 resonated with me the most. There was more background story—and I understand that you don’t always need to spell everything out for the audience, but I felt that 1994 glossed over a lot of plot and character development—and I appreciated how 2019 elaborated more on Laurie and Amy’s love story, Beth’s presence (I kept forgetting Clare Danes existed in the 94 version) and Jo’s struggle between chasing her dreams and finding love. I just felt that 2019 filled in the gaps better which made me empathize with the characters more. It also uncovered themes that I didn’t even notice from 94, such as growing up and being nostalgic about the past and from that, loneliness and how Amy serves as a character foil to Jo. There were some scenes 94 did better (Beth passing away and Amy burning Jo’s novel), but there were scenes 2019 did better too (Jo meeting Laurie for the first time, Jo denying Laurie’s confession and Jo’s ending). I liked that 2019 also brought more emphasis on minor characters and that they weren’t just there as props. I thought it was well-acted...and I probably prefer the acting here over 94 because it felt more raw and relatable. The thing that’s bugging me about 2019 was how it kept the same actress for Amy throughout the movie because if someone was not familiar with the story, they wouldn’t know she was the youngest sibling. Her voice was so deep and that classroom scene with the other made her look like Billy Madison). But the acting, particularly by Saoirse was very believable. She had that one-liner with Meg which stabbed me in the heart and another one-liner with her mother that broke me to pieces. This was the more serious version of the two, but it spoke to me on a spiritual level unlike 94 where I felt like I was just watching fiction.
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