West Side Story (2021)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg | 156 minutes | drama, music | Actors: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian d’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Iris Menas, David Aviles Morales, Ricardo Zayas

There has been a trend of remakes, reboots and re-releases of existing movies for some time now. After 30 years there was a sequel to ‘Mad Max’, the tenth ‘Fast & Furious’ film is in the making, Disney is converting all their classic cartoons into life-action and a number of romantic comedies from the Netherlands also roll out every year. band, with a 2022 re-boot of ‘Costa!’ Nowadays we have to wait for the next new version of an already known concept, in which box office results achieved in the past seem to be the main motivation. Yet this is not always the case, as Steven Spielberg proves with his interpretation of the 1961 film classic ‘West Side Story’ by Jerome Robbins. Spielberg’s remake is in fact a worthy addition to the film canon, which respects the original but does not honor it.

The story of ‘West Side Story’ is based on the musical of the same name and is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” about the forbidden love between two young people from rival families. The films are set in 1950s New York, where street gangs compete for power in their neighborhood.

Also in Spielberg’s version, the American-Polish Jets, led by Riff (Mike Faist), take on the Puerto Rican Sharks, Bernardo (David Alvarez’s) gang. In the midst of this battle, Tony (founder and former member of the Jets) and Maria (Bernardo’s younger sister) meet at a party. Their love drives the tensions between the gangs to a climax, which must be decided once and for all in a grand battle. But when Tony and Maria try to intervene, it ends tragically.

Although Spielberg’s remake remains close to the classic from 1961 in terms of plot, the new film has certainly been given a modern look. First of all, nowadays it is self-evident that the Puerto Ricans are played by people of color, and not by white, brown-painted actors as in 1961. Rachel Zegler in the role of Maria is particularly striking for her fine, natural playing and her beautiful voice. For the fans, the face of the now 90-year-old Rita Moreno is a welcome recognition; in the original she was the only Puerto Rican to have a significant role (a role that won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress!), now she’s part of a strong and inclusive cast in a role written just for her.

The music of ‘West Side Story’ has (fortunately) largely remained the same, but the dance scenes are tighter and more alive than in the original. The almost perfect choreographies are cleverly enhanced by Spielberg with dynamic camerawork, so that the dance scenes fit into the whole as well-balanced dialogues. It is noticeable in everything that the filmmaker is a big fan of Jerome Robbin’s film and of the original musical. Fortunately, Steven Spielberg is also a master of film himself: ‘West Side Story’ remains true to its predecessors, but with the right adjustments it has become a contemporary, successful remake.