West Side Story (2021) Movie Review
West Side Story is an adaptation of the 1957 musical. It was made into a movie in 1961 starring Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, and Rita Moreno. The 2021 version is helmed by director Stephen Spielberg. The story is most likely familiar to folks. It takes place in New York City and pits two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, against each other. The Jets are white and battle the Puerto Rican Sharks over “territory” otherwise known as a few city blocks in NYC. The two groups notoriously hate each other and wreak havoc in the community.
One night at a dance, Maria (Rachel Zegler) and Tony (Ansel Elgort) meet and begin to dance together. Tony is a member of the Jets and Maria’s brother, Bernardo (David Alvarez) is the leader of the Sharks. Obviously there is a conflict of interest here and tensions run high when Maria is seen dancing with Tony. For the two young kids it’s love at first sight. Maria only has eyes for Tony and doesn’t care at all about the territory war between the groups. Tony has recently gotten out of jail and is trying to avoid trouble and make a fresh start. The lovers just want to be together, but the two opposing sides won’t hear of it. Bernardo challenges Riff (Mike Faist) and the Jets to a rumble to teach Tony a lesson for dancing with his sister. The rest of the movie is the buildup to and final result of the infamous rumble. You will have to just accept that Maria and Tony are in love because the movie only takes place in the span of a few days – unless you believe in love at first sight this will feel a little hokey.
Alas what makes West Side Story so memorable is the song and dance numbers. The music is by the amazing Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics are from the legendary Stephen Sondheim so obviously the songs are fantastic. My favorite number was “America” which is carried largely by the phenomenal Ariana DeBose. The lyrics showcase the difficulties immigrants and those who are not white face in America in the 1960’s. Most will recognize the parallels between the struggles from that era and today. The song teeters between the awesome power of hope present for America as an idea and the cold reality for most people in the country. Sadly not much has changed from when these lyrics were written. Bernstein simply outdoes himself with the music with perhaps the catchiest tune in the movie. The song is helped immensely by the absolutely insane dance number that accompanies it. There’s no other adjective to use for entire number other than ‘fun’ as DeBose dances her way through NYC in a bright yellow dress.
This number is impressive but all of the choreographed numbers are exquisite and incredibly entertaining to watch. They will make you want to get up and dance in your living room! The dancing is captured beautifully by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. There are a lot of wide shots where you get to see the whole ensemble in sync which adds to the grandiosity of the movie as a whole. Much of that scale can be attributed to Stephen Spielberg as well who proves he can direct a musical with ease. This remake won’t be for everyone and to provide a warning, there are some differences from the original. But I felt the changes added something to the story and wasn’t bothered by them. Overall I thought it was an excellent remake with classic songs and intricate large scale dance numbers that were a blast to watch.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like West Side Story
2. You like musicals with a lot of dance numbers
3. You like 1960’s fashion
