Ultimately, this vision for hair and makeup — that the March sisters are meant to mirror one another — supports Gerwig’s vision more broadly. In her film, whether you identify with Meg, Jo, Beth, or Amy is almost irrelevant. Her Little Women is intimately aware of how, even though the sisters march to the beat of their own drum, the family is still oppressed by the same patriarchal society that encourages women to marry — including their mother, Marmee (Laura Dern), who confesses to Jo that she is angry every day of her life; Gerwig’s film is only the second adaptation to include this pivotal line from the book