Spending 2020 with the Marches
On watching Little Women (2019) as a way to cope with a difficult year
Credit: Sony Pictures
You know, 2020 was already scheduled to be a stressful year, what with it being the first full year since I self accepted and the year of an incredibly contentious Presidential election. But from the start, this year has gone above and beyond expectations, as it seems like about a decade worth of history has happened just in the first nine months of the year. From the night it seemed we were on the brink of war with Iran, to the wild news-filled night of March 11, to last week when my family lost one of our beloved cats, it’s been a lot, and ways to calm that stress has been in short supply. Although I’ve tried several methods to reduce the stress, one that has worked really well has been watching Little Women (2019).
So why Little Women (2019)?
Hey, newsletter writer, that’s a good question! It’s not like I intended it to be my go-to film for stress release when I watched it with my mom the day after Christmas in 2019. I loved it, and ranked it my second favorite film of the year*. I had every intention of seeing it multiple times before it left theaters, and would certainly own it once it was available on Blu-Ray. In a normal year, it’d comfortably take its place somewhere near the top tier of my favorite films list, occasionally brought out when I felt like watching it.
However, by coincidence, one of my repeat viewings was the same night in early January where it looked like we might go to war with Iran. As the trailers started rolling and I put my phone away for the movie, I had no idea what world I’d come out to as I exited the theater. And although I spent a lot of the movie being a bit distracted, it pulled me in and calmed me down, at least for those 2 hours and 15 minutes. Had it been any other film (like, say, Uncut Gems) I’m not sure how well I’d have taken the uncertainty.
As the winter continued, the movie stuck around for a while, and I kept going to see. This was in part because it was an excellent movie and I had the time and inclination to watch it. But on at least a couple nights related to the 2020 Presidential primaries I chose to watch the film instead of sitting through results. Even before the pandemic started I was using it to calm me down.
By the second week of March, the film had exited all of the theaters in my area, and I was content to wait a little while until the Blu Ray was released in the spring. That was, until March 11 happened. That day, story after story broke showing how bad the pandemic was getting across the world, and how bad it was shaping up in the United States. By the end of the evening, things looked scary and uncertain, and I needed something to calm me down. So I checked my cable’s on demand system, saw the movie was available to purchase digitally, and plunked down the cash. I ended that awful night in March with the much more agreeable Marches**.
Although I’ve not actually calculated the number of times I’ve watched it, I’d be comfortable saying it averages about one attempted viewing a week. I say attempted because several times I’ve started it, and only gotten part way through before I fall asleep, or shut it off because I can feel myself falling asleep. On more than one occasion I fell asleep watching it as I let an edible do its work.*** Most weeks I’ve kept it to one successful viewing, although a couple weeks I made it through twice, particularly if it was extra stressful.
So that’s how it became my film to release the stress of 2020. However, that didn’t really answer why it plays that role so well. It’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to over the past several months, and I’ve narrowed it down to a few reasons.
First, it’s just a great movie to watch. Every time I watch it I notice something else, and I love reveling in the scenery, music, production values, and language. It’s a genuinely great film, and now that I (finally) finished the novel, I’m even more impressed at how Greta Gerwig kept the spirit of the book while adapting it so well for film.
Second, it’s a wonderful film, but it’s also very gentle, and that is key. There’s no real violence, no harsh language, and isn’t constantly tense. At a time when the volume in so many arenas of life have been cranked to 11, it sits just a couple notches above a whisper, clearly heard but not overbearing. As mentioned above, I’ve fallen asleep to the film several times, and its gentleness in sound and sight is a major reason for that.
Third, it’s about the typically low stakes of everyday life while also about so much of what makes living life important. Now, I enjoy movies and TV shows with high stakes, but when I’m as stressed as 2020 has often made me, it’s nice to just have stories of people living, and interacting with each other, and just getting through their days.
But that doesn’t mean I want a film that is pure escapism or light, fluffy entertainment. I wouldn’t have watched so many times if it was. Even when I’m stressed I prefer things that are more challenging, and more likely to deal with topics and conflicts that are similar to what might be causing my stress. For example, I watched Contagion less than a week before March 11, knowing full well that we were on the verge of a pandemic of our own****.
And you know what? Even though it’s gentle, and the stakes are all pretty low, they aren’t inconsequential. The film deals with elemental things like love, memories, relationships between sisters, and losing and grieving for loved ones. Much of the movie takes place during the worst crisis in the history of the United States (yet), and also involves one of the characters getting sick, almost dying, and recovering, but with major long term repercussions for her health. As we look to what could be a tumultuous decade for our country, and it’s becoming clear that many survivors of Covid-19 will have to deal with it for the rest of their life, it seems more relevant than ever. These stories are important, even if they aren’t full of momentous speeches, bombastic drama, or epic setpieces with casts of hundreds.
The film is a good reminder that even though things are tough, and uncertain, and we are living in a year that might have its own chapter (or chapters) in a future history book, life goes on. People grow up, and fall in love (or don’t), fight and make up with their sisters, and have children. They care for loved ones who are sick, celebrate their return home from away, and mourn those they lose. The sun will still come up tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day after that, and for as long as any of us will live to see. And though it doesn’t solve all of my problems, or alleviate all (or even most) of my anger, my frustration, my sadness, and pain, it does give me comfort. And that’ll have to be enough, at least for right now.
In Memoriam
Credit: Erin Tate
Last week, my family and I said goodbye to Sandusky, aka Duesky, aka The Deusk. She was a great cat, and I will miss her fiercely. She lived for fourteen years, a nice long number made even nicer given she got in a fight with a raccoon (or possibly a dog) when she was younger and lived to tell the tale. She made my life, and the lives of my siblings and parents, richer just by being around. I am so glad she was here.
* #1 Was Parasite, if you must know.
** Yes, even Amy
*** This included the one time I watched the movie and it wasn’t relaxing, as I had taken too much and simultaneously had an overpowering urge to go to sleep and an overriding fear that falling asleep would be a very bad idea.
**** That being said, had I known parts of the film were made right next to the train line that goes into Chicago from where I live, I’m not sure how much I would have wanted to watch this one given what has happened.