Little Men (1998)

1871 New England. Two-week orphaned preteen Nat Blake, in his new circumstance, has been living on the streets of Boston with his more streetwise friend, fourteen year old Dan, who looks ... See full summary »

Director:

Rodney Gibbons

Writers:

Mark Evan Schwartz (screenplay), Louisa May Alcott (novel)

Stars:

Kathleen Fee, Michael Caloz, Mariel Hemingway

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathleen Fee	...	Narrator / Molly
Michael Caloz	...	Nat Blake
Mariel Hemingway	...	Jo Bhaer
Ben Cook	...	Dan
Ricky Mabe	...	Tommy Bangs
Chris Sarandon	...	Fritz Bhaer
Gabrielle Boni	...	Nan Harding
Michael Yarmush	...	Emil
Tyler Hynes	...	Demi Brooke
B.J. McLellan	...	Jack Ford
Mathew Mackay	...	Franz
Julia Garland	...	Daisy Brooke
Serge Houde	...	John Brooke
Emma Campbell	...	Meg Brooke
James Bradford	...	Silas Blake

Storyline

1871 New England. Two-week orphaned preteen Nat Blake, in his new circumstance, has been living on the streets of Boston with his more streetwise friend, fourteen year old Dan, who looks after Nat and who survives by his cunning and by stealing. Due to an event of living on the streets, Nat gets a benefactor in the form of John Brooke who pays for his schooling at Plumfield, a boys' boarding school in the country owned and operated by John's sister-in-law and her husband, Jo and Fritz Bhaer. Although each being different in the way they exact their discipline, both the Bhaers believe that treating the boys with compassion and treating them as boys will result in them being better people than if they were strict disciplinarians. Nat goes through some adjustment of needing to lie to survive on the street to life at Plumfield, but ultimately finds that that different life is one to which he truly wants and that the changes he has to make do make him a better person. Nat's stay at ...

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Plot Keywords:

family relationships | woman writer | smoking | rebellious son | troubled kids | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief language

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Louisa May Alcott's Little Men

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$77,924, 10 May 1998

Gross USA:

$104,255

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$104,255

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allegro Films, Brainstorm Media, Canada Television and Cable Production Fund

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Sarandon plays Fritz Bhaer, who is Jo's husband. In the 1994 adaptation of Little Women. Chris Sarandon's ex-wife, Susan Sarandon, played Jo's mother (Mrs. March).

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Quotes

Dan: So you better stay away from me... or you will be the one who is crying
Dan: So you better stay away from me... or you will be the one who is crying

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Deep Impact/Woo/Clockwatchers/Little Men/Artemisia/In Our Own Hands (1998)

User Reviews

Much improved over the 1940 RKO film, though a long way from perfect

As said in my review for the 1940 RKO film, 'Little Men' is a charming, entertaining and heart-warming book. If you like the more popular 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives', 'Little Men' won't disappoint as it does have much of the ingredients that make those two books so good.

The main reason why there is a personal preference towards the other two is to do with that 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives' are stories I've known and loved since childhood whereas 'Little Men' was introduced to me quite some years later.

So far this reviewer has only seen two adaptations, this and the 1940 film, and while this does have flaws it is the far superior adaptation and film. Sure there are omissions, changes and merging of characters, the characters' personalities are not quite as interesting and it doesn't really convey the essence of the book, but there is much more of the original story and spirit here whereas the earlier adaptation, which was terrible as an adaptation and mediocre at best on its own merits, was almost unrecognisable.

'Little Men' looks very nice, simply but cleanly and beautifully photographed with elegant and evocative costumes, sets and scenery. The music score is understated, lilting and soothing, never overbearing, too low-key or inappropriately jaunty. There is much more of the gentle tone, subtle social commentary, charm, poignancy without being too maudlin and gentle humour without being corny or too slapstick-oriented than in the 1940 film, though there are parts that are a little stilted and don't flow as well as they could have done.

Much of the story is wholesome and charming, with a very heart-warming ending. There are a couple of crucial scenes, like the death of John Brooke, that don't have the impact and are clumsily done, and there is a choppiness and skippy nature to the storytelling giving a sense of incompleteness. The film tries to solve this by getting narration to fill in the gaps, but the narration is rather unnecessary and distractingly over-explains at times.

With the acting, some are better than others. The children fare far better than the adults, with the standouts being Michael Colaz and particularly Ben Cook, who is superb and the best thing about the film. The adult actors are disadvantaged by the adult characters being too much in the background and underwritten. Chris Sarandon is a bit too rough and stern as Bhaer, though admittedly it is preferable to having Bhaer played stiffly like he has been. More problematic is a far too bland and subdued Mariel Hemingway as Jo, who has lost her spirit, tomboy-ish charm and spunk and reduced to a paper-thin cut-out.

All in all, a long way from perfect but watchable. As an adaptation, it's still less than ideal but it's much better than the 1940 film. 6/10 Bethany Cox