 I went into Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig, without having any prior knowledge of the story by Louisa Mae Alcott. And I left the movie having watched one of my favorite films of 2019. With that being said, this video will be solely focused on the movie. Throughout Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women, characters tend to show their love through the eyes. And this differs from character to character. This gaze of love, as I will call it, looks like this. And the characters I will be focused on are Joe, Amy, and Laurie, and why Amy and Laurie's relationship made the most sense. To compliment my initial point, while shallow, is that Joe never looked at Laurie with such intent. With that particular look of love. After Beth died, it was evident that Joe had a void in her life, a loneliness that she felt could be filled by being loved. So she turned to Laurie. The person who expressed feelings for her prior. But having Laurie and Joe remain platonic friends really highlights the nature of their relationship. That relationship is one of two best friends. They are able to play around and tease each other. They are even like brother and sister. As we saw how Laurie wanted to be part of the family to be at March. But as lovers, they are incredibly emotional and temperamental. While many people believe she shouldn't have ended up with the professor, it certainly made more sense than Laurie. She doesn't care for elegant societies and riches while Laurie seems to thrive in it. Laurie is talented but unfocused, and someone who wouldn't push Joe to be better. And a few years later, after his rejection, Laurie seemed to understand this, and I think he did after seeing Amy again in Paris. When it comes to Amy and the distinct regard of love, hers is the most dramatic and romantic. Gerwig masterfully displays that perspective as we see what she sees. This introduction to both Amy and Laurie really displays how she views Laurie. All in slow motion, sauntering through the street. She has him up on a pedestal. This scene is really a beautiful one in its entirety. It's like you can see Amy's heart melt as she runs off to leap into his arms. Amy can't help but be that childish girl from so many years ago. And that is a genuine heartwarming look of love, one that is true. And to cap it off, she says, It's Laurie. After so many years, she had built an idea of Laurie in her mind. She had loved him ever since she was a girl, and even when he shatters that expectation during the ball, she makes sure he understands that she will be respected. And even through the way he was acting in his temper, she doesn't respond with anger, just disappointment. His words hurt her, but the love remained. And through disappointment again, Amy sees Laurie as someone with untapped potential. Someone with charm, beauty, and talent, but also someone with riches. And Amy challenges Laurie to be better, something not many people do. To further this idea that this love was authentic, she says that she believes she has power over who she loves, that it doesn't just happen to a person. Which I saw her as her trying to convince herself that she doesn't love Laurie anymore. This is an interesting parallel to when Jo is asked by Marmy if she loves Laurie, to which she replies. I care more to be loved. I want to be loved, not the same as loving. After Amy's monologue, she asks him to button her up. The intimacy and tension shown in this short moment as he undoes and finally looks up at her was a moment without words, but Laurie's regard makes all the difference. Looking at the screenplay by Gerwig, she writes that Laurie finally looks at Amy. He finally sees her for all that she is. Not as that little girl or as Jo's little sister, but a look of love. The love between Amy and Laurie to me is the one that made the most sense. Gerwig showed that as the moments differed from Amy and Laurie and Jo and Laurie, Jo and Laurie had a bond that was very specific and natural. I felt as though I was watching two people who were very similar with their emotions, yet very different in their ambitions. Two stubborn people that don't like to be told when they are wrong or that they aren't living up to their potential. And even if Jo did decide to be with Laurie, again she cared more about being loved. She didn't care about pushing Laurie to be the best that he could, and neither could he to her. Amy and Laurie's connection as lovers felt more genuine. While it wasn't shown as much as Jo and Laurie, in their short moments, their bond was shown. And by the end, for Amy's story specifically, it worked out. She was the ultimate winner. Amy stated bluntly in her monologue that marriage is an economic proposal. And she won by marrying the man she loved, but she also married Rich, as she knew she would. For Jo, pertaining to what we see, the romantic love of her life was Frederick, someone who was a little older and more mature than Laurie. But the important part is that he was someone who could criticize her work. Frederick wasn't afraid to tell Jo what she didn't want to hear, and he was someone who could elevate her writing. Again, you can say something like a business, like an economic proposal. Frederick was someone who was a little more understanding, softer, and quieter than Jo was. Someone who didn't have a temper. To me it made the most sense, they contrasted each other perfectly. And so it all came together, with that initial look of love. Jo and Laurie's friendship shows the power of platonic relationships, and in fact it even shows their importance. Even if it isn't romantic, their platonic love can still be powerful. But it's important to note that little women is not a love story. While I may have touched upon that aspect, the larger and more important story is that of Jo's struggle over her liberty and talent, and of the march's story of an orange, warm-tinted family and childhood that transitions into a blue-tinted, colder reality, and a separation that is adulthood. Overall, a story that was beautifully written by Alcott. Gerwig's touch was a masterful one, in a retelling of a story that is close to many people's hearts, and that will be close to new hearts that will follow.