How Little Women’s production designer brought the world of the March sisters to life
Whether it’s the snowy New England backdrop or the tight bond between the March sisters as they come of age during the 19th century, there’s something about Little Women that makes us all want to snuggle under a quilted blanket with a cup of hot cocoa. But director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) had a more forward-thinking vision for her big-screen version of the 1869 Louisa May Alcott novel. “These are girls turned into women, so she wanted them to explore their world,” the film’s Oscar-nominated production designer, Jess Gonchor (True Grit, The Devil Wears Prada), tells us. “There’s a fast-paced journey in the film that works well into the design.”
To stay true to the source material, Gerwig shot Little Women primarily in Concord, Massachusetts—just two miles from the Orchard House, where Alcott wrote and set her classic. Gonchor and his team found a 50-acre piece of land and spent 14 weeks constructing a neighborhood, including the Marches’ American Colonial mansion. “I wanted the outside to look like an old worn-out jewelry box that you found in your grandmother’s drawer,” he explains. Right down the street is the all-male Laurence family mansion, plus the woods and the mailbox. (The snow was manufactured.) “This is how it’s described in the book,” he says. “I’ve never seen a movie where the houses [on set are positioned exactly as they are in the story], but that’s what we did. We needed to enforce a sense of geography.”
Just like in all three previous Little Women adaptations, in this film home is where the heart is. “If I were to draw a circle and point out all the locations, the inside of the March family home is the nucleus,” he says. “There’s so much coming and going in there.” Built inside a Franklin, Massachusetts, soundstage, the interior intentionally appears brighter and livelier as the creative characters saunter from downstairs to upstairs. Look closely and you’ll also notice extra staircases and a connecting closet between the bedrooms. It’s a metaphor. “There is no stopping place,” he explains. “It’s a beautiful maze and flow and endless activity. You never run into a dead end as you aspire to be the person you want to be.”
To wit, headstrong writer Jo (Saoirse Ronan) and marriage-minded Meg (Emma Watson) share a bedroom with a more sophisticated look. “There’s a writing desk in there and formal beds and less toys,” he says, adding that some dressers and tables were procured in Massachusetts antique stores. The bedroom for Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) features a sloped-in ceiling to capture intimacy during Beth’s health woes, as well as a childlike colorful wallpaper. The attic is the most vivid space of all: “Anything went in there,” says Gonchor. “They could write and perform, laugh or be sad.”
On the flip side, the interior of the Laurence abode—where dreamy Theodore “Laurie” Laurence (Timothée Chalamet) pines over Jo—“feels hollow and void of femininity. The men inside yearn for the love and togetherness of the Marches.” When Laurie (centuries-old spoiler alert!) ultimately declares his love for a grown Amy during her sojourn in Paris, the grounds of Harvard University served as the backdrop for the scene. “The campus has a beautiful common garden,” says Gonchor. “But we had to take it all the way back and dirt out the street and bring in the horses and wagons.” A historic property called Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Massachusetts, also acted as a stand-in for Paris. Meanwhile, Amy’s Paris art studio was filmed in a nearby space that had to be stripped of all its modern details as well. “I think the ability to time travel is the best part of my job,” says Gonchor.
Nearly one year after Little Women wrapped, the March house and its neighborhood are long gone. But Gonchor notes wistfully that at least he can view his work whenever he wants. “My dad is an architect and he sees his buildings come and go,” he says. “The amazing thing with working on a movie is that I get moving pictures that last forever.”
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