It’s easy to look back on 2019 as a year of disappointing content. Avengers: Endgame was an illogical crowd-pleaser, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was a mish-mosh of fan service and poor decision making, and don’t even get me started on the final season of Game of Thrones. But 2019 was also full of some of the most stunningly creative and brilliant films I’ve seen. If I was giving out my own awards they would be as follows:
· Parasite: The Actual-Masterpiece Award
· The Lighthouse: The Most-Disturbingly-Beautiful-Film-I’m-Uncertain-Happened Award
· Knives Out: The Most-Fun-I’ve-Had-in-a-Film-in-Years-aka-Clue-for-the-21st-Century Award
· I Lost My Body: The I-Never-Thought-I-Would-Cry-About-a-Hand Award
· Jojo Rabbit: The Anything-That-Makes-Fun-of-Fascism-is-Good-With-Me Award
· The Cave: The Reminder-You-Have-a-Soul Award
But the one I think that really hit me was Little Women. It gets the Film-That-Made-My-Heart-Smile Award. I also was incredibly skeptical and the first to write it off because I’ve seen every other adaptation of it and I didn’t need more – especially after the 1994 version. I mean, Susan Sarandon as Marmee? Well, I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong, so, yes, I was wrong. Greta Gerwig not only made a film which respects the novel, the audience, and the narrative of women of the time, but also Louisa May Alcott’s life. While Saorsie Ronan and Florence Pugh may have been recognized by the Oscars, the entire cast is utterly amazing and captivating. Anyone who’s ever read the book or watched its many film adaptations knows that Beth is the heart of the March family. The 1994 adaptation of Little Women is what I grew up with, but Eliza Scanlen’s portrayal of Beth might be my favorite. And Saorsie Ronan’s Jo. And Florence Pugh’s Amy. And Timothee Chalamet, who is somehow in everything. And Emma Watson. And Laura Dern. And Meryl Streep. And Chris Cooper. And…okay, I think this might be my favorite cast of all the adaptations.
The world Gerwig builds on camera is as gorgeous as it is imaginative, honest as it is painful. A friend’s description of the film to me was it’s so vibrant and charming they wanted to crawl inside it. I can’t say I blame them. Jacqueline Durran’s attention to detail allows the wardrobe to become its own character. Yorick Le Saux uses light to not only give texture to an already vibrant world, but to affect the audience’s emotions in ways that are almost cruel. And Alexandre Desplat’s score, as usual, is the finishing touches which bring the world to life. I’ve actually been listening to the score on repeat for the last few weeks…
Which makes it a bit odd that around the same time, I woke up with Different Drum by The Stone Poneys stuck in my head. Why? I don’t know. I just did. But it also seemed a bit apropos. It’s a song that somehow always gets used in films or TV series about murder. We get it, you want to be edgy. Really, it’s Linda Ronstadt expressing her feelings about relationships: they’re complicated and she doesn’t want to be tied down, much like Jo March. Much like Louisa May Alcott. So, naturally, I’ve now fallen down a rabbit hole of The Stone Poneys. The Recently Played section on my iPhone has been a weird mixture of Alexandre Desplat soundtracks (The Imitation Game soundtrack is pretty amazing) and 1960’s rock. The mixture has become my internal soundtrack for the book I’ve been reading recently, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
The Starless Seabegins with the story of a grad student who finds himself falling head first into a strange world of secret societies and secret worlds beneath our own. It evolves into an adventure through time, multiple worlds and a metaphor for living in the now. It is essentially Narnia-for-adults + a-love-of-books. I had the privilege of attending a release event for The Starless Sea at the Strand Bookstore in December 2019. The author was interviewed by Chuck Wendig, another wonderful author (Star Wars Aftermath, Wanderers) and friend of Erin Morgenstern. Half the event was about the book/questions about writing and the other half was Erin discussing with Chuck/the audience her favorite spirit (gin), cocktail (Bee’s Knees) and tips for Dragon Age.It was a delightful evening spent with a room full of fellow nerds of all kinds, the authors included.
If you are not familiar with the work of Erin Morgenstern, I hope this encourages you to change that as soon as possible. Her first novel, The Night Circus, was a New York Times bestseller – rare for a debut novel – and is proof of Morgenstern’s mastery of building spaces. I have not yet finished The Starless Sea, but to steal my friend’s expression, I want to crawl inside the world of this book. Morgenstern’s worlds feel real and lived in, yet so full of light and magic.
I have a stack of books waiting for me after The Starless Sea and very long watch-lists for Netflix, Disney+ and Criterion, but honestly, I’m just trying to savor all this wonderfulness for as long as possible. I know, I know, the whole nothing-gold-can-stay adage. In a world of crazy elections, coronavirus fears, endless wars and violence, and climate change threatening to kill us all, can you blame me for holding on for just a second longer? I’ll move on to something else soon. For now, I’ll be dreaming about sitting on the shore of a starless sea while listening to a strange mix of Alexandre Desplat scores and The Stone Poneys.