The director Tom Ford became “jealous” of
The designer Tom Ford may indeed be best known for his contributions to the world of fashion. Having worked as the creative director for Gucci and Yves San Laurent, the Texas-born artist launched his eponymous luxury brand that focuses on smart and stylish clothing, as well as fragrances.
But outside of his fashion work, Ford is also a well-respected filmmaker, having directed 2009’s A Single Man, an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel of the same name, starring Colin Firth, and 2016’s Nocturnal Animals, based on Austin Wright’s 1993 novel Tony and Susan.
While Ford has indeed ventured into filmmaking on a handful of successful occasions, he still can’t help but feel envious of some of his fellow directors. In a feature with Variety, the fashion designer discussed one of his contemporary directors, someone who has established themselves as one of the leaders of modern cinema.
When Ford heard that yet another version of Little Women was going to be made, he couldn’t “understand” why. That was until he heard that Greta Gerwig would be handling the project. “When I read that Greta Gerwig had written a new screenplay based on the novel and that Gerwig was going to direct, my interest was piqued,” he said.
Ford then admitted that perhaps he “had been wrong about the merits of a remake,” adding, “Perhaps the fact that an incredibly talented and wholly contemporary female writer-director had decided to take this on meant that I had overlooked something.” He said that he realised he had been wrong after seeing Little Women.
Little Women is Gerwig’s 2019 coming-of-age period drama, adapted from the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott, telling of four sisters in Concord, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. It stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlon, among many other stars and was widely praised upon its release.
“There is nothing dull or flat about Greta Gerwig’s Little Women,” Ford said. “It is at once a classic and yet completely contemporary. It is lush and fresh. The exceptional screenplay, the brilliant casting, the nuanced and original performances, the sets, the costumes, the rhythm and pace are all exactly right.”
In fact, Ford loved Gerwig’s adaptation so much that he actually became envious of her talents: “After Lady Bird, I was, of course, impressed with Ms. Gerwig’s directing, but with Little Women, I’ve become jealous. Very jealous. Which, for me, is always the greatest compliment. Brava.”
