Saoirse Ronan Deserved An Oscar.

Unlike my previous blogs, this time I will get straight to the point. 

 

But. 

 

It will contain spoilers. 

 

Hah.

 

Despite <Parasite>’s four historic wins last Sunday, I still found my self feeling a bit let down after the 92nd Academy Awards. Alright, let us cut to the chase:

Saoirse Ronan’s performance in Greta Gerwig’s <Little Women>

Deserved. An. Oscar.

 

Saoirse Ronan plays Josephine March (or just Jo) in <Litter Women>. Jo March is the second eldest of all four March girls; she is cheerful and outspoken, frank but with a good heart, and above all else, values her freedom and liberty as an independent woman. Saoirse Ronan’s theatric portrayal displayed both the cynical and redeeming qualities of Jo March, each little gesture, slight tilt of the head, and every eagerly boyish remark was nuanced almost to a fault; her raw, explosive anger when Amy burned her novel, immediately followed by heartbreaking guilt towards the same sister after her hateful stubbornness made Amy fall into the frozen pond, Ronan mastered each dashing quirk of Jo March. Through Jo’s character, Ronan brought to life the conflicting desires within a woman who yearns to be loved yet refuses to succumb to societal expectations, tangibly expressing the frustration and distress of her situation— 

 

“Women have minds and souls as well as hearts, ambition and talent as well as beauty, and I’m sick of being told that love is all a woman is fit for. But… I am so lonely.” 

 

With these simple sentences, Jo March vocalized the agonizing thoughts of countless wing-clipped women experiencing the same internal tug-of-war. What is so great about Ronan’s portrayal of Jo March is that we initially see her as someone we all want to emulate, because she is this headstrong girl, eager to become a woman and make her own way in the male-dominated world, yet ends up being beaten down by life and experiences the same doubts and very real frustration any woman is bound to live through in her lifetime. However, the appeal of Jo March comes from her stubbornness— when expected to lose her spark, she instead burns brighter. Following the death of Beth, Jo chooses not to forsake her youngest sister last wish and picks up her pen again. Jo creates her own reality through her novel, and when confronted with “your women must be married or dead,” she makes her decision with confidence by only accepting the conditions on the basis that she gets to keep the novel’s copyright. Here Ronan maintains the poise and dignity of Jo’s identity as a female writer, yet she brims with youthful anxiety and ill-contained excitement, eyes shining with anticipation at her accomplishments. A character arc that thrives in such sentimental polarity can feel emotionally taxing, but Ronan handles Jo’s mood swings and angsty breakdowns with grace, always passionate and sometimes selfish, but never without sympathetic reason.

 

Aside from breathing life into Jo March’s volatile temper, Ronan displayed incredible depth in her portrayal of Jo March in tandem with Gerwig’s writing. <Little Women> relies heavily on shifting between two distinct time periods (childhood and adulthood) for storytelling and character development, and Ronan took full advantage of this trans-tempus (I don’t even know if this is a word but it sounds cool sorry my Latin friends) aspect of the film.

Referring back to the death of Beth, Gerwig’s storytelling seamlessly brings together the beauty of childhood and the harsh reality of adult life with lighting and well-timed pacing, while Ronan’s acting in this particular scene is out of this world. She precariously yet masterfully balances the conflicting emotion of how the naivete of past memories leads to future disappointment, demonstrating versatility and genuineness in each vignette. In light of the cruel outcome, the rapid pacing of Beth’s past recovery immediately followed by her imminent death is a scene that will twist anyone’s heart, Ronan’s bright-eyed youthfulness and world-weary, forced, desperate optimism is a perfect portrayal of the heartbreaking capability of death and change.

 

That being said, I believe I have exhausted myself trying to fight a lost battle, however, I don’t believe that my efforts are completely futile. Saoirse Ronan is the youngest actress to be nominated for four Oscars (already!) and I don’t see her train of success stopping anytime soon. I admire her as an actress for how deep she dives into each character she assumes, and in the case of Jo March, how she genuinely, whole-heartedly poured her soul into this angsty, emotionally constipated, but still elegant, tomboy. I haven’t seen Renee Zellweger’s <Judy>, but I suppose she must’ve done a damn good job to one-up Saoirse Ronan’s Jo March.