So much of “West Side Story” takes place against a backdrop of crumbling facades or under the shadow of a wrecking ball. Characters like Maria, Bernardo, and Anita have a rich back story that the original never allowed, and Spielberg also allows his historian side to influence the take, opening the film with a shot of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts under construction-a job that historically pushed immigrant communities out of that part of the city. The changes are not superficial but feel like elements that are being pulled out of the original in a way that 2021 audiences will see differently than those did in 1961, including enriching the immigrant narrative at the center of this piece. And yet Spielberg and Kushner find new notes to hit in a musical that many know by heart. Of course, anyone even vaguely familiar with the Shakespeare-inspired original knows that this New York Romeo falls hard for his Puerto Rican Juliet. ![]() Just released from prison after nearly killing a guy, Tony lives in the basement of the store in which he works, watched over by a mother figure named Valentina (a transcendent Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for the first film and could do so again). Maria, Bernardo, and his partner Anita ( Ariana DeBose) go to a dance that night where Maria catches the eye of Tony ( Ansel Elgort), a former Jet who is trying to go straight. Leading the Puerto Rican Sharks is Bernardo ( David Alvarez), a boxer who isn’t about to give an inch to anyone and who warns his sister Maria ( Rachel Zegler) to never even look at a “gringo.” That doesn’t last long. The former group of tough-talking New Yawkers is led by Riff ( Mike Faist, giving one of several star-making performances in the film), who is tired of the Sharks taking the city that he thinks belongs to him. The opening sequence sets up the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks. ![]() One misguided casting decision holds it back from absolute greatness but there are so many breathtaking, perfect sequences in this “West Side Story” that I suspect it will do what the original did for a lot of people, including this critic who was raised on movie musicals-make them a fan of the entire genre. And they have staged their production in a way that’s often mesmerizing. Kushner and Spielberg have stayed loyal to the play and original film while also making notable changes in a way that makes it fresh and vibrant. The new voices here are those of absolute geniuses, including Spielberg, writer Tony Kushner ( Angels in America), cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, choreographer Justin Peck, and a stunning ensemble of new voices and talented veterans. For some reason, remakes in film are more often seen as attempts to supplant an original whereas theater goers are accustomed to the process of new voices interpreting classic texts. We are instantly hooked and will be for the next 2.5 hours.įans of the original stage production and beloved film will argue over the need for a 2021 version of “West Side Story,” although restaging a classic play is an annual event in major theaters around the world. ![]() The editing avoids the choppy rhythms of so many recent musicals, allowing viewers to feel motion and connection. The camera doesn’t just capture action on a set-it glides with the performers, and we glide along with them. Immediately, one can feel the craftsmanship of this restaging of the classic Broadway smash. Much of “West Side Story” is about that need, that sense of something under the surface that just has to escape-restlessness, passion, anger, displacement-the sense that “something’s coming” that so many people feel when they’re young. It’s almost as if they can’t help it, as if they need to express themselves through movement. Occasionally, their strides break into a dance move-a spin or a slide across the pavement-always in unison. They toss paint cans to one another, gathering in larger numbers as they slink and slide through the streets. Steven Spielberg’s eloquent and graceful “West Side Story” opens with the familiar image of the Jets prowling across New York City.
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