West Side Story (2021)

I saw the original West Side Story from 1961 back in 2015 for my college music class and found it to be full of youth, energy and vibrancy, but also tangled with war, sadness and suffering. As you would  expect from a story that's inspired from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. However most of Shakespeare's plays are completely universal and stand the test of time. You can take any of his works and set them in any time period and in any culture and his moral thought still rings true. I had some high hopes for this new remake and as usual Spielberg did not disappoint.

Set in the late 50s/early 60s, the upper west side slums of Manhattan, New York are inhabited by two warring gangs. The Jets, the white delinquents and the proud and loyal Puerto Rican Sharks. Motivated by racial tension, stricken poverty and broken homes these young men fight for neighboring territory and dominance through violent rumbles and raids. The NYPD are at odds to know what to do. Most of these guys have been in and out of jail from they were young boys, but as gang life is the only home many of them know they can never fully leave or change their ways. 

However, there are some that are willing to make a break from gang life and start new. After a year in prison for almost killing a rival gang member, Tony is determined to better his life as he distances himself from the Jets, yet their leader and his best friend Riff refuses to let him off easy. Meanwhile, Maria, a beautiful and bright Puerto Rican dreams of a better life where she can make her own decisions. Maria's older brother, Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks thinks otherwise and holds a tight grip on his dreamy eyed sister. 

While at a 'social experiment dance' between the two warring youth factions, Tony and Maria meet and immediately the differences in them call out to each other. Through the madness and chaos of dance and disagreements, Tony and Maria find each other and soon their lives and the lives of those around them are set on a course of love, hate, fear, loss and redemption. 

L-R: Bernardo (David Alvirez) and Anita (Ariana DeBose)// Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler) // Riff (Mike Faist) and Graziella (Paloma Garcia-Lee)

This movie was just magnificent! The casting on all fronts was really well done. Unfortunately, Ansel Elgort's portrayal of the lead hero, Tony, paled in caparison to Mike Faist's breakout performance as the revenge bent, but rather charming Riff. David Alvirez and Ariana DeBose were beautiful and breathtaking as Bernardo and his loyal, strong willed girlfriend Anita. Their musical numbers were so passionate and lively and you could see the pride that they had in their culture and their people. 

Newcomer, Rachel Zegler as Maria had a big role for such a tiny person, but her exceptional soprano paired with her sweet personality won me over. I loved how she wasn't afraid to challenge her brother and her relationship with Anita, who is Maria's maternal guide, becomes paramount later on in the story. Rita Morena who was the original Anita in the 1961 version plays Valentina, a matriarch of both communities whose bi-racial marriage to a white man has similar tones to Tony and Maria's love story.

They really went full force with the settings as well. The Manhattan west side is dark, dismal and really not worth fighting for. Yet, you would understand how these young people are desperate for something to call their own and that they'll take whatever they can get their hands on. The costumes...where do I begin?! It's the late 50's so we're still in the era of the crinoline dresses in an array of rainbow colors and the typical greaser styles of dingy jeans and Chuck Taylors. Anita's dresses are especially stuning and add to her vibrant personality as compared to Maria's more modest and innocent style. This movie is a costume lover's dream.

The choreography was just as magnificent as the original. Many of the cast and ensemble were professional dancers and were memorizing to watch. I would have love to see more dancing between Tony and Maria though, yet their duets were beautiful, especially "One Hand, One Heart." I also loved Anita and Bernardo's "America" that was done with the Puerto Rican community! That sequence was so much fun! 

The only expectation I had for this film is that it would be faithful to the original and it was. Completely. Despite the mixed reviews I found West Side Story (2021) to be an exceptional remake with updated material that made the film entirely its own. As with the case of Romeo and Juliet, there is no happy ending. Yet, that is the reality of life that is dominated by war and fear. Shakespeare's story of tragic romance has been told and adapted in many forms. 

From family feuding to rival street gangs, Romeo and Juliet was meant to be more than a doomed love story. It was Shakespeare's commentary on the downfall of society when it allows jealousy and revenge to overtake mercy and justice. Those themes are just were paramount Shakespeare's days and are still as relevant in 1961 and today.