I never liked West Side Story (1961) that much, and seeing the stage show reminded me of the power of the songs but didn't make me like it any better. Roger Ebert described it as "the kind of musical people thought was good for them, a pious expression of admirable but unrealistic liberal sentiments." I couldn't connect with the story when I was growing up, although I look at it now with many more layers of understanding.
When Steven Spielberg (one of the most successful filmmakers of all time) announced that he would create a new version of West Side Story, it just made sense. His films have always had a dynamic feel for camera movement and lots of music, with actual song-and-dance routines here and there. It was the first musical he fell in love with, and he decided that he'd waited long enough--it was time to make a musical. With the blessings of the Leonard Berstein, Jerome Robbins, and Arthur Laurents estates, and in collaboration with Stephen Sondheim himself, Spielberg set out on an ambitious project: making his first musical by adapting a show already regarded as a classic.
The brilliant Tony Kushner was hired to write the screenplay, drawing more from the original stage show and less from the 1961 movie. His adaptation updates things for a modern audience while leaving out elements that haven't aged so well. Spielberg's most frequent collaborator, composer John Williams, was brought in as a consultant (he was the piano soloist for the previous movie), and he recommended conductor Gustavo Dudamel to handle the music. The team also included choreographer Justin Peck; Jeanine Tesori as a vocal coach and music supervisor; David Newman as a music arranger; costume designer Paul Tazewell, Spielberg's long-time cinematographer Janusz Kaminski; and another long-time member of the team, editor Michael Kahn, working with Sarah Broshar. A dream team if there ever was one.
(It's worth noting that the film was originally supposed to be released in 2020, but the arrival of COVID-19 created unexpected complications. The studio decided to release it in 2021 instead, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of the original movie.)
The story begins like this: The Jets, a gang led by Riff (Mike Faist), are desperately trying to claim what they deem is "their" territory, even though most of it is getting demolished to make way for the new Lincoln Center. They are constantly at odds with the Sharks, a gang of Puerto Ricans led by Bernardo (David Alvarez), who wish to claim territory of their own, and if that means a scrape or two with the Jets, so be it. Kushner's writing makes the racial tension even clearer in this version, which happens to resonate with modern events.
The Jets used to be led by Tony (Ansel Elgort), who just got out of prison on parole. He works in Doc's General Store, run by Doc's widow Valentina (Rita Moreno). He wants no part of gang culture anymore, having made up his mind to change his life. Then he meets Bernardo's little sister Maria (Rachel Zegler, in her first movie) during a dance in the high school gym. As things have grown to a boil, the Jets and Sharks plan a "rumble," which becomes even more personal for the over-protective Bernardo when he discovers that a Jet (or former Jet) likes his little sister. And now all the pieces are in place for a classic Romeo and Juliet update.
Although the story is over sixty years old, I'm not going to rehash all of it. I'm going to operate under the assumption that you're familiar with it and move on to discuss what I think is so great about this movie.
First of all, I think the casting is perfect. I don't understand why so many critics praised the movie but were negative about Elgort as Tony, saying that he didn't bring the same energy as the other characters. Well, of course he didn't, because Tony is "in a different place," if you see what I mean. Having spent time in prison, his eyes are open to new possibilities, and he wants to change the path of his life. He's as surprised as anybody by his sudden obsession with a Puerto Rican girl. Elgort's singing voice is smooth and easy, the perfect thing to make a girl fall in love. And this version of Tony gets more to do, singing- and dancing-wise, with the number "Cool," updated to have Tony sing it to Riff and the Jets as an attempt to talk them out of going to the rumble. Mike Faist is electric as Riff. Unable to understand why Tony doesn't rejoin the gang, he takes on the role of a leader, but we can see that he has his own doubts and has a lot of growing up to do. Faist's take on Riff features a subtle vulnerability that makes this version refreshing.
Rachel Zegler shines as Maria. Time has given her more confidence and a bigger mouth in the media, which may have hurt the success (or lack thereof) of Disney's live-action Snow White. But in her first movie, under the direction of a master filmmaker, she's wonderful. One of the best decisions the team made was to restore the original order of the song "I Feel Pretty," placing it after "The Rumble," thus restoring the irony and tragedy of Maria's happiest scene before she learns of her brother's murder.
There are other brilliant examples of songs re-staged, including "Gee, Officer Krupke," which now takes place in the police precinct. Briand d'Arcy James (the great Broadway performer--who doesn't even get to sing or dance in this movie!) plays Krupke, and Corey Stoll plays Lieutenant Schrank. It says something that familiar actors like this are willing to take small parts in a Spielberg film.
One of the best re-imaginings in the show is during the song "America," moving it from an apartment rooftop to the streets of New York. Ariana DeBose won an Oscar for playing Anita in this movie, the same role that earned Rita Moreno an Oscar for the original movie. DeBose is magnificent in the role, bringing all the passion, strength, and emotional power we expect from Anita. She's one of the only characters who can't be intimidated by Bernardo. And during "America," she is the joyous center of acceptance and celebration of her new home. Her most challenging scene, just before the ending, is raw and charged and difficult to watch (even though things don't go as far as we fear they will). She is a talent worth watching.
Justin Peck's choreography, while playing tribute to the original work of Jerome Robbins, brings things to a whole new level, especially in combination with the virtuoso camera work by Spielberg and Kaminski--nobody moves a camera like they do. They treat the camera like another dancer, pulling the audience right into the thick of things (see "Dance at the Gym"). It's exhilarating, so say the least. And I appreciate that they shot "The Rumble" as a real fight, not a choreographed "dance fight." Looking at the same scene in the original movie is a little silly now. The story is really a musical fantasy, taking place over only two or three days, but Spielberg brings a lot of realism to the story in a few key scenes.
The cherry on top, of course, is the inclusion of the legendary Rita Moreno. She gets more to do as Valentina than Doc did in the original, and she almost steals the movie. She brings as much force with her as she did while playing Anita in the 1961 version, yet she uses it in a different way. Even at the age of 88, she sparkles on the screen, displaying a depth of character that's not only appropriate for the story, but beyond the lived experience of the rest of the cast. Bringing her into this movie was a masterstroke. And she gets to sing the best of all the songs ("Somewhere") in a gentle, bittersweet rendition that gives it new layers, making it less about Tony and Maria and more about a lifetime of shared romantic dreams.
The filmmakers decided not to subtitle any of the Spanish spoken in the movie. Some people took that as an opportunity to trash it before it was even released and declare it a "woke" product. While the movie is full of "liberal sentiments" as mentioned earlier, and many things released from Hollywood nowadays have tended to lean that way, I think the argument is unfair. The most unfair part of that kind of criticism is that it seems to have been made by folks who haven't even seen the movie and have a grudge against the people who made it. While they're entitled to their opinions, that doesn't make them right. After hearing Mr. Spielberg's thoughts on why the subtitles were omitted, I thought it was a decision made with sensitivity, and once you've seen and understood the story, it makes complete sense. He and Tony Kushner decided to trust audiences to be intelligent enough to understand what is happening in a scene based on context and acting. I would argue that they succeeded.
Now a few words about the ending. I have always thought that if Messrs. Laurents, Robbins, Bernstein, and Sondheim were going to base (a large) part of their ideas on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, then they should go all the way. Maybe they thought having both romantic leads dying wouldn't sit well with Broadway audiences. Maybe they were trying to include a little bit of hope at the end of the story. I've never been satisfied with how the show ends, and wish the filmmakers had found a way to fix it. It's always struck me as some sort of half-hearted compromise. Not a deal-breaker, just a minor disappointment.
Notwithstanding my feelings about the ending, Spielberg and his team have created a supreme movie musical that deepens the emotions, doubles the excitement, and actually got me to care. Many filmmakers have failed at taking a stage musical and turning it into a full-fledged movie that doesn't depend so much on the stagey-ness of the original production. I think Mr. Spielberg has shown us all how it's done, making something that feels organic and free of theatrical restrictions. Just the way he and Mr. Kaminski frame the choreography showcases it in a superior way to any other recent movie I've seen. For a musical movie, that alone is noteworthy (pun intended).
West Side Story (2021) features a lot of struggle and divisiveness, anger and misplaced fear, but also an abundance of life and color, energy and romance, and a healthy dose of humanity. I didn't expect to write an entire essay gushing about it, and never thought I'd say I like West Side Story, but here we are.
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