One more proof that Greta’s early script was way better
I’ve talked about Laurie’s proposals in the book, but in this movie we don’t really see any proposal to Amy. However in an early script the kiss scene has much more substance and I just don’t know why Greta decided to cut it. Surely the scene could have had one more minute if you took out that stupid letter from Jo. Sorry I just can’t get over it.
Anyway, let’s go back a bit to the scene were Aunt March tells Amy that Laurie is gone.
Now, the 1994 movie has a very similar scene with Laurie sending a note so maybe that’s why it got cut. However there’s a significant difference. This is the note from the 1994 movie:
My darling Amy.
It is you I want and not your family. I've gone to London to make myself worthy of you. Please, do not do anything we shall regret.
Notice the difference? In this script 2019 Laurie is not asking anything from Amy, while 1994 is basically asking her to wait + that thing they did when Laurie says he only wants to be part of the family. I guess 2019 Laurie had already asked her not to marry Fred, but still.
2019 Laurie is only informing her that he’s off to work in London. And this is really important because in the movie we never see Laurie better himself and realizing that he want to be a productive member of society. Furthermore, he talks about their friendship, not a romantic relationship. He knows he hurt her, he knows she’s been loving him for years and he’s aware that he screwed up. So he might not have Amy as a wife but at least he expects her to maintain their friendship. I just think it’s very mature of him to do that.
Onto the kiss scene. This is what the early draft had:
Do you see? Do you see the difference? The beauty of this scene compared to what we got in the actual movie?!?!?! Why?!?!?!
It starts identical but then he says “I love you”. We never hear him say it in the movie! And I love how Amy is shocked and didn’t even hear him the first time he says it. She can’t believe it’s happening.
And again in a movie about parallels this would have been a perfect contrast to his proposal to Jo. He also tells Jo repeatedly “I love you” but the intention is completely different.
With Jo he was insisting, she was saying “no” and he kept pushing and like to shut her up. And with Amy he’s also trying to stop her but the issue is different cause Amy is going on about forgetting whatever happened between them. She doesn’t want to appear as if she’s trapping him. Since Laurie wrote “friend” in the note, maybe she thought he had second thoughts and he regretted it. And at least I read it as if he were speaking in a very sweet and tender tone. So it’s as if he were saying “no, I don’t want to forget and act as if nothing happened when I actually fell in love with you!”
And then he reassures her that she is not second to anyone!
You don’t have to accept me, but I love you, Amy March.
Those words are so meaningful. Again, he knows he screwed up so he can’t really ask for anything, not from her. With Jo he forced her to listen to him, but here he’s leaving the decision entirely to her. Whether she accepts him or not, his love is not going to change. He’s being so selfless here.
I just love that she starts crying harder. I would have cried with her in the movie theater.
*signs* we could have had it all guys.
Like it would have fixed so many problems from the movie, at least with Amy and Laurie.
