Having never read the book, I only knew what was commonly known of this story and its characters. I wish I had been prepared for the emotions I was to experience.
Greta Gerwig enraptured my longing for period dramas with love and feeling. She told a tale of family, of dreams, of pleasure, and of pain; pulling me into the world of Jo March and her family.
Timothée Chalamet did an exquisite job of making me fall in love with Laurie.
Emma Watson showed how Meg chose true love over societal riches.
Eliza Scanlen tore at my heartstrings when Beth was gone when Jo awoke.
Florence Pugh portrayed the humour of youth within Amy, and then the splendid woman she grew into.
And Saoirse Ronan brought to life a character with whom I seem to share many a similarity. I laughed when Jo danced like a wildling with Laurie, cried when she mourned, and understood her mania when writing her novel.
I left the cinema with tear stained cheeks and the heart fuelled wish to finally, after ten long years, push to the finish line with my novel, and delve fully into the world of screenwriting. Like Jo, I have spent many a long night writing until the birds in the trees told me it was a new day. Often have I felt dismayed and a failure, dismissing my work. Too often does a writer wish they could just let it go, leave it behind. That is, though, what makes you a writer.
No matter how much it hurts, no matter how often you face rejection, no matter how much the world around burns, you still have the want to write.
Inspiration may slip, passion may fade; but then, one day, when you are on your long journey home from a tireless job, your feet are sore, and all you want is some hot food and your bed, you find yourself lost in another world. You watch as strangers run amongst creatures not yet in existence. You see the end of one love, and the beginning of another. You laugh and you cry, and you can't help but speak for them, for the people the world deserves to know. You can't help but put together the words of their stories, words that will one day be a part of your soul.
Whether children, teenagers, or adults study your infamous works, or they sit dusting on a virtual shelf, your words will bring a life to you no other ever can. Though life challenges you, you will always be pulled toward the language you speak most fluent and ardently. You are a writer.
I know I haven't spoken about the film in much detail; that is for you to experience yourself. This film not only brought joy, and tears, to my life for two hours, but it also lit a flame I hadn't known was dying within me.
One day you will know the name Stephanie James, and my heart will be filled with the love of the characters that I create.
I have never felt so passionate after watching a film before. The cast, the directing, and the storyline was bewitching, and is one to revisit, time and time again.