Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Streep to play Aunt March in "Little Women" reboot

According to the Los Angeles Times, Meryl will be portraying wealthy Aunt Josephie in Greta Gerwig's upcoming adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Since the news broke last week that Meryl was attached to participate in the project, it was widely reported and assumed that Streep would portray Marmee, mother to the March girls. But producer Robin Swicord, who wrote the screenplay to the 1994 film version, is quoted as saying that Meryl will in fact portray Aunt March instead.

It sort of makes sense if we think about the age. Streep, at 69, might be too much of a stretch to play the mother of early 20-something girls. Not that Meryl couldn't pass for early to mid 50s, but the role of Aunt March seems more realistic. What's interesting about the article is that it suggests that the role may be a bit juicer than that of Marmee.  After watching the 1994 film for the first time this weekend (don't hate), I was sort of disappointed that Susan Sarandon seemed to have so little to do. If Gerwig is indeed focusing more on the girls' experiences as young adults, the role of Aunt March may be more prominent, as she regularly tries to influence the girls life choices, with varying levels of success.

Here's hoping that Greta has made it worth Meryl's while. Filming is set to begin on October 1.

1 comment:

  1. Aunt March is a much juicier role that Meryl can
    add her comedic special qualities. And, hopefully, the screenplay has expanded the Aunt March role for our girl...

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