The Little Ladies (2006)

The Little Ladies is a movie produced in 2006, directed by Leslie Armstrong. It bears some inspiration from Andrea Andy Reyes' bestselling book series. The movie starred Winona Ryder as Olivia March and Lucas Diaz as Kenneth Carson.

## Plot

The movie focuses on the March siblings: pretty Eva, temptuous Olivia, sweet Quinton and romantic Amber growing up in New York City, New York during and after the Vietnam War. With their dad fighting in the war, the siblings struggle with main and secondary problems under the guidance of their strong-willed mom, affectionately called Margaret. As a means of escaping some of their problems, the sibings revel in performing in romantic musicals written by Olivia in their attic cinema. Living next door to the family is rich Mr Carson whose grandson Kenneth, nicknamed Ken moves in with him and becomes a friend of the Marches. Mr Carson becomes a mentor for Quinton whose piano-playing reminds him of his late daughter and Eva falls in love with Ken's teacher Theo Brookes. Mr March is wounded in the war and Margaret is called away to nurse him. While Margaret is away, Quinton catches scarlet fever from a neighbour's baby. Awaiting Margaret's return, Eva and Olivia send Amber away to live with their Auntie Mei. Prior to Quinton's sickness, Olivia had been Auntie Mei's companion for years and while she was unhappy with her position she tolerated it in the hope her auntie someday will bring her to Europe. Amber thrives as Auntie Mei's new companion. Mr March comes back home prior to Christmas Day. 4 years pass: Eva and Theo Brookes marry and Quinton's health is declining. Ken graduates from school and proposes to Olivia and asks her to go to London with him but while discovering she thinks of him more as an elder brother than a crush, she declines his offer. Olivia later deals with the added disappointment that Auntie Mei has decided to bring Amber, who is currently 16 with her to Europe instead of her. While crushed, Olivia departs for Hollywood to pursue her dream of writing and experiencing life. There, she meets Professor B. Maxwell, a German teacher who challenges and stimulates her, introduces her to opera and philosophy and encourages her to write better stories than the boring Victorian melodramas she has wrote so far. In Europe, Amber reunites with her childhood best friend, Ken. Finding he has become dissolute and irresponsible, she censures him and refuses to have anything more to do with him until he mends his ways. Ken decides to go to London to work for his grandpa and make himself worthy of Amber. Olivia comes back home to see Quinton who finally dies from the effects of the scarlet fever that have plagued him for the previous 4 years. Grieving for her brother, Olivia retreats to the comfort of the attic and starts to write her life story. Upon its completion, she sends it to Professor B. Maxwell. Meanwhile, Eva gives birth to triplets Faith, Hope and Dream. A message from Amber informs that Auntie Mei is very sick to travel so Amber should stay in Europe with her. In London, Ken receives a message from Olivia in which she informs him of Quinton's death and mentions that Amber is in Vevey while unable to return home. Ken travels right away to be at Amber's side and the 2 comfort each other in their grief. The 2 come back to the March apartment as husband and wife. Auntie Mei dies and she leaves Olivia her apartment which she decides to turn it into an academy. Professor B. Maxwell arrives with the printed galley proofs of her manuscript and announces that he is departing for the West where he has found a position for a professor. When he finds out it was Amber and not Olivia who married Ken, he proposes to Olivia and Olivia accepts.

## Cast

* Winona Ryder as Olivia "Ollie" March
* Trisha Incoy as Evelyn "Eva" March
* Ricky Bao as Quinton March
* Yhasmine Shi as Amber March
* Eva Copperfield as Older Amber
* Lucas Diaz as Kenneth "Ken" Carson
* Ciena Valderrama as Margaret March
* Gabriel Byrne as Professor B. Maxwell
* Reign Garcia as Theo Brookes
* Erick Williams as Mr Carson
* Emma Quinn as Auntie Mei
* Flora Pattinson as Nanny Beth
* Janey Mendoza as Jada Lim

## Release

The movie opened on 1034 screens in the United States and Canada on December 20, 2006. It grossed $230,000,000 and ranked #6 at the box office on its opening weekend and earned $34,004,056. Against its budget of $1,000,000, the movie was a success.

### Home Media

The movie had its North American video release on January 12, 2007 following by its digital release on April 17, 2012. The blu-ray edition release has yet to be announced.

## Reception

### Critical Reception

Abby Go of the New York Times awarded the movie 3 stars while calling it a surprisingly sharp and intelligent telling of Andrea Andy Reyes' famous story and not the soft-edged kids' film it may appear. She added, "It grew on me. At first, I was grumpy while thinking it was going to be sweet and devout. Gradually, I saw that Leslie Armstrong was taking it seriously and then, I started to appreciate the ensemble acting with the 5 voice actors making the warmth and familiarity of a family. Eddie Gunther of the Los Angeles Chronicles called the movie meticulously crafted and warmly acted and observed it is one of the rare Hollywood movies that invites your attention slowly and elegantly rather than propelling your interest with effects and simple manipulation. The Little Ladies has a strong 90% on Common Sense Media inspired from thirty reviews with the consensus: "Thanks to a powerhouse lineup of talented voice actresses, Leslie Armstrong's take on Andrea Andy Reyes' The Little Ladies proves that a timeless story can succeed no matter how many times it is told.

### Accolades

#### Wins

* 2007 BMI Film Music Award
* 2007 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Best Voice Actress Award
* 2007 Child Voice Actress Award

#### Nominations

* 2007 Academy Award for Best Voice Actress
* 2007 Academy Award for Best Costume Design
* 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Score
* 2007 BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design
* 2007 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay