West Side Story review

WEST SIDE STORY: 

STEVEN SPIELBERG’S TAKE ON THE CLASSIC MUSICAL IS AS LIVELY AS EVER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

20^TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Rachel Zegler as Maria in West Side Story

 

            Tonight…Tonight, acclaimed director, Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List, Lincoln, The Post) does the unthinkable, remake one of the most beloved and cherished musicals of all time, West Side Story. The 1957 stage musical by Jerome Robbins featuring music and songs by Leonard Bernstein and the late, Stephen Sondheim had previously been adapted to the screen with the 1961 Best Picture Oscar winner by Robert Wise, which is still considered to be one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. 

            I actually revisited the original film the night before watching this one and there’s a pretty good reason why the 1961 film is celebrated even to this day, with its energetic musical numbers, hummable songs, and a story that’s about as classic as you could get. A modern take on William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet except set in 1950s New York and revolving around a conflict between two rival gangs. 

            Which finally brings us to Spielberg’s version which I was both interested in and skeptical about when the project was first announced. Why remake what’s already perfect? That’s a question many people ask whenever a classic or iconic film gets remade by Hollywood and most of them are extremely inferior to the original like Ben-Hur, The Haunting, and Around the World in 80 Days, but once in a while there comes a remake that’s on par with the original and sometimes even better than the classic like 3:10 to Yuma, True Grit, and Ocean’s Eleven.

            Well, I can gladly say that Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story isn’t just a remake that breaks the mold of what people usually expect from one but could very much be one of the best remakes in recent years that honors the original while also standing on its own. From the songs and musical numbers, superb acting from the cast, and impressive production design, not to mention this marks Spielberg’s very first musical and a damn good one at that. 

            Set in 1957 New York City, the film follows a young man named Tony (Ansel Elgort-The Divergent Series, The Fault in Our Stars, Baby Driver) who meets a woman named Maria (Rachel Zegler-Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Remake)) and it’s love at first sight. However, their romantic feelings for one another are soon used to wage war between two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets for control of the city streets. 

            The film also stars Ariana DeBose (Hamilton, The Prom, Schmigadoon!) as Anita, David Alvarez (Billy Elliot: The Musical) as Bernardo, Mike Faist (Dear Evan Hansen, Newsies, The Unspeakable Act) as Riff, Rita Moreno (Singin’ in the Rain, The King and I, Rio 2), who had previously portrayed Anita in the 1961 film as Valentina, Brian d’Arcy James (Shrek: The Musical, Hamilton, Spotlight) as Officer Krupke, Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Ant-Man, The Many Saints of Newark) as Lieutenant Schrank, Jamila Velazquez (Twisted, Empire, John Henry) as Meche, Yassmin Alers (Rent, The Ten Commandments: The Musical, Across the Universe) as Lluvia, Jamie Harris (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Rory, Curtis Cook (The Lion King Live, House of Cards, Luke Cage) as Abe, Kyle Allen (The Path, American Horror Story, The Greatest Beer Run Ever) as Balkan, Ben Cook (30 Rock, Veep, Paterno) as Mouthpiece, Myles Erlick (Flashpoint, The Next Step, Billy Elliot: The Musical) as Snowboy, Ana Isabelle (Dementia 13, Imprisoned) as Rosalia, Talia Ryder (Matilda: The Musical, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between) as Tessie, and Maddie Ziegler (Ballerina(Leap!), To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, The Fallout) as Velma. 

            Overall, this new take on West Side Story offers a somewhat grittier edge as well as a diverse cast, while also retaining the magic and sense of wonder from the original resulting in a very entertaining musical that could definitely be a strong awards contender. What’s great about this one is it works both as a remake to the original film and as a standalone movie that can be appreciated on its own merits even if you’ve never seen the 1961 version. 

            Both films hit very familiar beats, but they’re also quite different from each other especially when it comes to tone and production design. The 1961 movie is a relatively cheerful musical (Ending not withstanding) with very bright and vibrantly colored architectures reminiscent to musicals that were popular at the time of its release, whereas with this one, it feels a lot moodier, a little gritty and violent (As in PG-13 gritty and violent), and the set design looks much dirtier and somewhat bleaker than in the original, which I think sets the tone for the story a lot better. 

            The songs are still catchy as Hell and the musical numbers are incredibly well-choreographed and energized. The best way I can describe them is like Step in Time from Mary Poppins on steroids and stretched throughout the majority of the film, but it still allows time to slow down, take a breath, and let the more somber and emotional moments of the story sync in. 

            The acting is superb and just about everyone in the movie is memorable even if you don’t always remember their names, they all have their own distinct personalities that really make the city streets come alive. The most standout role is Rachel Zegler in her first major film role as Maria, this is a star in the making and the movie fully showcases her talents, she sings, dances, and conveys so many different kinds of emotions across several scenes, and apparently Disney has noticed her skills as she will eventually portray Snow White in their remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs so yeah, she definitely has her foot in the door and took a very large step through it. 

            The only actor who didn’t do much for me was Ansel Elgort as Tony, I’ve seen Elgort give amazing performances before, but here he just feels a little wooden and while he can sing and dance incredibly well, his acting kind of shifts from being charming and charismatic to dull. To be fair, the role he is playing is a very complicated one as he is tasked to play a character who has to be both charming and intimidating, a guy who wouldn’t harm a fly but could potentially kill a man, if necessary, it’s a difficult task and he gives a decent attempt at it, there just isn’t much interesting about him. 

            West Side Story does what all great remakes/re-imaginings do, offer a new perspective on the classic story and updating it while also understanding what made the original so timeless. This is one trip to 1950s New York City you’ll want to revisit again and again…Bravo, Spielberg!