Little Women (2019)

A remastered, feminist classic and a tale of sisterhood all wrapped in a proper (yet still playful) bow of a soundtrack.

Image source: https://www.discogs.com/Alexandre-Desplat-Little-Women-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/14596221

Score by Alexandre Desplat

Rating 9.5/10

Alexandre Desplat, winner of two Academy Awards for his film scores for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water, is back at it again with his new score for Little Women (2019). Though the soundtrack did not win an Academy Award, it was still nominated (and rightly so).

One of my favorite parts about the instrumentation in his score is the use of more delicate instruments like flutes, a piano, harp, and strings. Though generally speaking these instruments are not always written to play delicately, Desplat keeps them playful and light, or mournful and quiet depending on the circumstances of the film itself. There are rarely (if any) moments of dissonant chords or places where one instrument sticks out of the texture of a piece in an off-putting way.

Through the film, we follow the March sisters on their journey of making their way in the world and growing up. As we follow them, the soundtrack of the film retains its light tone through both the instrumentation and the style of the music. Desplat uses staccatos, fast tempi, plucked string instruments, and sixteenth and eighth note motives to add to the light feel and fast pace of the March sisters growing and exploring the world. The quick sixteenth note motives, such as the ones in the first piece on the soundtrack, Little Women, make me think of a curious child or young adult investigating or inquiring about something they find interesting, which is appropriate considering the topic of the film.

Though I feel the soundtrack truly encompasses the energy of the film and has some fantastic moments that give me chills, I have to wonder if I feel this way in part because films of this genre always have scores with the same instrumentation and style. Looking at the scores for other period drama pieces, take Pride and Prejudice (2005) for instance, it has a similar piano and strings mix and style in some parts of the score. The faster motives I mentioned earlier are certainly something I’ve heard before in the score of other period dramas. Despite this, there are parts of the score which still feel different enough, or fully unique and perfect for certain scenes. Take a piece from the middle of the film like Laurie and Jo on the Hill, a piece that comes at a very pivotal scene. The instrumentation is far more mellow and relaxed, and just a bit ominous. It sets the scene perfectly and differs from a large part of the score.

Overall there are so many great things about Alexandre Desplat’s score, I feel they well outweigh my cons. Not only is the whole score absolutely gorgeous, it gives me chills and sets each scene perfectly.