Remaking movies is a tricky business, especially when the original film is so beloved. You need a reason. And that reason needs to be more than just Steven Spielberg wants to make it, even if he is Steven Spielberg. Well it turns out there are plenty of good reasons to remake West Side Story, one of the best is to fill it with perspectives that were missing from 1961 popular worldview and to bring forward to modern audiences a story that is as relevant to today as it has ever been.
While Spielberg has made some of my favourite films ever, it's been hard to be to be excited about much of his output in the last few decades. His films remain technically great but I struggled to care about many of them. Watching West Side Story reminded me not only of why he truly is one of the best film directors of all time but also how he has manages in many of his films to capture my imagination in ways few filmmakers can. West Side Story is cinematic magic. He has crafted a true thing of beauty and, with the collaboration of screen writer (and another genius) Tony Kushner, he has improved upon the piece by highlighting the voices of those who may not have had a presence in productions before. This is an example of why a film should be reinvented.
As I mentioned West Side Story is a thing of beauty. Spielberg's use of colour, and how he captures movement is incredible. This is a see-it-on-the-biggest-screen-possible sort of movie. It is a visual feast and like all great film makers he uses his crafting of each scene to further his narrative and build his characters in ways less skilled film makers miss. The film is enchanting in how it creates a very 1950s New York that is both true to its time and stylized to evoke an emotional response from the audience. It is both set in a very specific time but also tells a story of timeless relevance. And it bursts into beautiful vivid life before our eyes.
Elgort and Zegler both are powerful in their leading roles, juggling the difficult task of selling the audience on a love-at-first-sight love story (a concept that feels unrealistic at the best of times), singing the songs very well, and giving performances that are full of nuance. But for me the standouts and the reasons the film succeeds so well were in some of the showier roles. DeBose's Anita steals the show, not just because the character (Moreno's role in the pervious version) is such a scene stealer, but because DeBose brings such a presence and complicated brilliance to the role. Also captivating is Alvarez' Bernardo who is just oozing with charisma all over the place. Truly the entire cast is strong. Seeing Moreno in a new role is wonderful too, but not just for the nostalgia. She remains an incredible actor and the gravitas she brings to the film is powerful. The trope of the wise elder who is the one who can see how all the younger characters are failing is a cliche but she makes it work with her powerful and subtle performance.
I want to give credit to Peck's choreography and the way Spielberg films it. They find a way to make it all feel very of the time but also quite fresh. They didn't try to make it street-smart or modern or anything, giving it the old broadway feel while still making it all organic. Dancing is an important element of the great American screen musical and this West Side Story is top notch in this department.
I truly admired the film's choice to make the dialogue bilingual and not subtitle it. The languages felt feel, like how people truly talk. And the meaning was never lost. It's part of how West Side Story walks a fine line between cinematic fantasy and real world relevance. It employs a heightened reality, made up of nostalgic impressions of the classic American myth, but uses this to deconstruct the way we view our romanticized past and how we can connect this to our current present.
I think my main appreciation is for Kushner's incredible screenplay. He has taken a piece of classic American theatre and cinema history and breathed new life into it in a way that is far more inclusive, far more expansive, and far more revelatory than I had seen it before. His take is transformative in how it doesn't romanticize gang life, how it calls out male violence against women, and deconstructs the racism of this era to precisely. This film has transformed for me this musical in a way that makes me appreciate it all so much more and I hope it will for audiences as well.
West Side Story
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Airana DeBose, David Alverez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Brian D'Arcy James, Corey Stall
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Tony Kushner
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