LITTLE WOMEN (2019)
Gorgeous, faith-filled family drama with lasting warmth.
Should You Watch It?
Yes. This is a delightful, deeply Christian family drama built around four sisters and their mother during the Civil War. It offers minor crises, family tensions, prayer, compassion and love—and repeatedly shows those tensions being resolved through grace and changed hearts.
The film is long, but its superb direction and acting make the shifting timeline easy to follow. Its beautiful domestic world is filled with Christian charity, answered prayer, marriage, sacrificial love and the triumph of goodness. There is no foul language, sex or nudity, and no overt violence.
If your family wants a thoughtful, beautifully made story about faith, family and growing up, make the trip to Little Women.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESFour sisters come of age in New England during the Civil War while their father serves as a chaplain. Jo writes, Meg dreams of marriage, Beth plays the piano, and Amy longs to paint and find her place in the world.
The film moves between the sisters’ younger years and their mature lives, following their ambitions, relationships, family tensions and struggles with faith. Their mother, Marmee, teaches them to look beyond themselves and care for people in need.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is an outstanding film. It is the most gorgeous, historically accurate big-screen version of Louisa May Alcott’s famous book described in the source review.
The filmmaking is Oscar worthy, as are the direction and acting. Greta Gerwig’s flashback structure could have been difficult to follow, but the superb directing and performances make the story clear. The result is a long but delightful character study with strong emotional and family appeal.
The Worldview
The film presents a very strong Christian worldview. Prayer, dependence on God and His grace, sanctification, Christian charity, Christmas, church, marriage and funeral customs are all treated seriously. The family’s faith is active rather than merely spoken: it moves them toward compassion, generosity and changed hearts.
The movie also makes a strong appeal for women’s equality, an emphasis that borders on feminism. The source review says this tendency is transformed in a traditional direction at the end, when one female character cries out for companionship. The film’s historical setting portrays 1860s America and New England as a homogeneous society with a highly developed Christian culture that assumed faith and values. It also notes that people in that period did not often use the name of Jesus.
At its heart, Little Women believes that love, prayer and charity can sustain a family through suffering. Scripture likewise calls believers to “love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong Christian worldview with lots of prayer, overt commendations of Christmas, miraculously answered prayer, real dependence on God and His Grace, deep understanding of sanctification, church scenes, Christian funeral, Christian marriage, but as Dr. Peter Loback has pointed out in his book on George Washington, people didn’t use the name of Jesus often in that time, plus a strong appeal for women’s equality, which borders on feminism but is slightly transformed in a traditional direction at the end by one female character crying out for companionship and many acts of Christian charity
Foul Language
No foul language
Violence
No overt violence, although one of the sisters is dying from scarlet fever
Sex
No overt sex, but a few scenes of kissing where couples proceed toward marriage
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Alcohol use at parties but no drunkenness
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Mild miscellaneous incidents of stubbornness, pride, willfulness, anger, but in the context of a beautiful domestic world.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Marmee teaches her daughters to respond to people in need with generosity. What does Christian charity look like in your family this week?
Matthew 25:35–40 · 1 John 3:17–18The sisters each have different ambitions, gifts and desires. How can you honor your gifts while still loving and serving the people God has placed around you?
Romans 12:4–8 · Philippians 2:3–4The family faces illness, disappointment and conflict. What does it mean to depend on God’s grace when circumstances do not change quickly?
2 Corinthians 12:9 · Psalm 46:1–3The film values both women’s independence and companionship. How does Scripture describe strength, work and faithful relationships?
Proverbs 31:25–31 · Ecclesiastes 4:9–10The Final Word
Beautifully made and filled with prayer, charity, family love and strong Christian faith, Little Women is a rare historical drama that can nourish viewers of all ages. Its length and feminist elements may prompt discussion, but the goodness triumphs. WORTH THE TRIP.
