Every movie Greta Gerwig directed, ranked

From acting to screenwriting to directing, Greta Gerwig is turning into an unstoppable force in Hollywood. Now, with the industry-redeeming release of Barbie continuing her streak of highly-acclaimed flicks, the Greta legion is asking the same question: Which movie in the director’s roster is her best work to date — the crème de la cinematic crème, if you will?

Gerwig first gained acclaim in Hollywood by appearing in a number of high-profile movies — one of these, Frances Ha, which she developed alongside her real-life partner Noah Baumbach, also earned her a Golden Globes nomination. Greta then went on to write a few treatments and scripts that gave her a more prominent voice in the industry, but it wasn’t until 2017’s Lady Bird that she truly became a force to be reckoned with among her contemporaries.

Here’s a ranking of every movie Greta Gerwig has directed so far, from worst to best. You might obviously find that your own preferences differ from ours, but even if we disagree on whether Barbie or Little Women is the better film, one thing is absolutely certain; Gerwig is a cinematic powerhouse who is only getting started.

4. Nights and Weekends (2008)

Nights and Weekends might technically go down as Gerwig’s directorial debut, but she shared the spotlight with renowned mumblecore filmmaker Joe Swanberg. The 2008 low-budget flick tells the story of a long-distance relationship and how it evolves over time, but fails to follow storytelling forms in a way that distinguishes it from a lot of other movies in this genre.

We’re not sure what it is exactly, but it requires only a single glimpse to realize this isn’t a Greta Gerwig movie. Perhaps it’s the classic example of one too many cooks in the kitchen, but Nights and Weekends doesn’t work as a story, let alone a movie. Still, since Greta is technically credited as a co-director, we should include this outing in this list, even if a bit hesitantly.

3. Barbie (2023)

While the trailers for Barbie looked very decent, the movie had every reason to fail disastrously, except for the fact that we knew Greta Gerwig wasn’t likely to write or direct herself into a mire. And now her gamble has paid off; the film is not only going down a treat with critics, but also reviving box office potential for a lot of other blockbusters, and seemingly taking the medium out of its commercial trance. This set of compounded successes means no one can deny Barbie’s significance.

That being said, I firmly believe that this isn’t the best of what Greta’s cinema has to offer. Sure, Barbie‘s absurdist script works when it matters, and the performances by Ryan Gosling’s Ken and Margot Robbie’s Barbie are almost impeccable, but the script — and the direction, for that matter — isn’t ultimately as unerring as we’ve come to expect from Gerwig in her other two flicks, Lady Bird and Little Women.

2. Lady Bird (2017)

Lady Bird is a wonderful movie in every regard; the very peak of coming-of-age storytelling, combined with a script that truly brings its characters to life. And how could we forget Saoirse Ronan’s performance as the titular Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson?

This 2017 comedy-drama is among the finest the genre has to offer. Greta received a standing ovation while premiering the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, and then went on to receive incredibly rave reviews by critics all around. The film was also nominated for five Academy Awards, and though it didn’t win in any single category, it still cemented Gerwig’s name as one of the great filmmakers of our time.

1. Little Women (2019)

I almost want to believe that Gerwig made Little Women just to prove that Lady Bird‘s success wasn’t a one-off accident. Maybe it’s even the little nostalgist in me that can’t resist the appeal of a period drama done right. Perhaps I could even convince you why I think Little Women is, in objective terms, Gerwig’s best movie to date.

But I’ll resist the temptation, and say this instead. Little Women, an adaptation of the classic 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott, makes you fall in love with life itself. Our idiocies and pitfalls, our achievements and triumphs, our heartbreaks and joys, and lastly, our immense tragedies, have all been depicted and brought to a towering crescendo of dramatic perfection in the course of this two-hour period romp, thus turning it, without a doubt, into Gerwig’s best movie to date.