This video contains a spoiler for the film and book Little Women. Although if you know the Friends episode where Joey reads the book, then you already know the spoiler.

So, let’s take a look at this scene and here comes the spoiler, the scene where Beth dies. The is such well crafted scene. It’s a great example of when every element of filmmaking, from cinematography to acting to writing all work in perfect harmony to create a powerful scene. But what I want to focus on, and what really struck me the first time I watched this scene, is the editing.

What we have here is a sequence that repeats itself for devastating effect. The first time we see the sequence, we watch Jo hurry down the stairs and rush into the kitchen to find Beth sitting at the table. Relief. She’s still alive. Fast forward a few minutes through Beth’s last Christmas, and we are subjected to the same sequence. But this time, everything is different but also the same. Jo wakes up, makes her way downstairs and slowly goes into the kitchen. But everything tells us that she sort of already knows what’s happened and we, the audience, feel like that too. Beth has died. Their mother sits alone.

A lot of credit for why this repeated sequence works so well has to go to the cinematography and colour grading. The warm, bright orange hues of the first play though are brutally replaced by these cold, dark blue colours. But, let’s focus on how the editing is used for maximum effect.

The first time round, the cuts are quick and the shots are fast . Jo coming down the stairs is chopped up into five very quick shots. The pacing is hurried and anxious, just like how Jo is feeling as she arrives in the kitchen. Now, let’s compare that to when this sequence is repeated.

Everything moves a lot slower. Jo’s journey down the stairs is now one long, slow shot. Although the action is the same, the whole sequence has a very different feel. The rapid energy of the first having been completely sucked from the scene and replaced with a visual depiction of a sinking feeling.

Topping off this beautiful scene is the moving repetition of the shot of the mother. First time round, her turn reveals Beth, still alive. But the second time around, although her action is almost a mirror image, it’s the confirmation that we all knew was coming but didn’t want. Beth is gone.

The scene is soaked with emotion and, without a single line of dialogue, Greta Gerwig has designed a scene with pitch perfect accuracy so the audience knows exactly what’s happened. And I think that is a magnificent movie moment.

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