Greta Gerwig’s Little Women soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat works well to evoke the time period, the coming-of-age genre, and depth of emotion.
The first and fifth songs in the soundtrack, Little Women and Dance on the Porch, work to establish the mood of the film: in a quiet town in the 1800s, but within joyful and exciting lives. There are no electronics, all strings an piano, the playful jumpy bounce of which evoke the image of young women chatting and dancing.
Other songs including Plumfield, The Beach, and The Letter are quieter. They use minor keys and lilting strings to portray the griefs of heartbreak and deaths. Laurie and Jo on the Hill also uses a similar slow ebb and flow to illustrate the pain they feel (especially Laurie) that they aren’t meant to be together in this lifetime.
These two categories are rounded out by a third set of songs including Snow in the Garden, Young Love, and It’s Romance. They each portray the joy that the women reach through their different goals, whether it be fulfillment in love of in their work. They each have a touch of the sadder and quieter moments to show the depth of life, but ultimately are filled with more uplifting and light major key moments.