West Side Story
The Most Beautiful Sounds I Ever Heard...
2021 Review Number 3
West Side Story: (Musical): 88 out of 100: After a 50 year career as a feature film director, Steven Spielberg has made his first musical, with his love and affection of 'West Side Story' evident in his remake. All the songs from the 1961 original are featured along with the dazzling choreography that will thrill fans and convert some non-believers to musical devotees. Spielberg has updated his version with grittier scenes and ensured that ethnicities are represented more accurately than the original.
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Many people will already know that this is the musical version of William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet?' Set in 1957 in New York City, Riff (Mike Faist) is the leader of the Caucasian gang 'The Jets' who have a territorial dispute with the Puerto Rican gang 'The Sharks' led by Bernardo (David Alvarez). Tony (Ansel Elgort), best friend of Riff and former member of The Jets, has just been released from prison and trying to live a life free of crime. He spots Maria (Rachel Zegler) at a dance but their romance hits a hurdle due to Maria being Bernardo's sister.
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Steven Spielberg shows that he can capably handle the musical genre. His use of tracking shots allows the camera to capture full body dancing sequences. What I find annoying in many modern musicals is the camera cutting off the performers at the waist or just showing the feet. Spielberg has the camera effortlessly gliding along at feet level to capture the brilliant choreography devised by Joshua Peck. Another feature which showcases Spielberg's skill in directing a musical is his use of crane shots to provide the viewers with aerial views of dance scenes.
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Apart from the brilliant songs and dance routines, another reason why you must see this on the big screen is to fully appreciate the set decoration that represents a darker side to NYC. Also, the cinematography by long-time Spielberg collaborator, Janusz Kaminski, has some faded colours to present a grittier NYC, but magically turns on the bright colours when more upbeat songs like "I Feel Pretty" and "America" are being sung. Other noteworthy songs on the soundtrack include "Maria", "Somewhere", "Something's Coming" and "Tonight". The music written by Leonard Bernstein (with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim), has been wonderfully adapted by David Newman, who now appears to be Spielberg's regular film composer now that John Williams has semi-retired.
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This is a well-acted film where everyone required to sing can carry a tune. In the original, Natalie Wood's voice was dubbed by Marnie Nixon. Accolades to Rachel Zegler for taking over Natalie Wood's iconic role, for this is her feature film debut. Ariana DeBose portrays Anita, girlfriend of Bernardo, and she does a fantastic job just like Rita Moreno did in the same role in the 1961 version. Moreno this time around plays a shopkeeper who takes Tony in, helping him to adjust to normal life after his prison stint, and gets to sing 'Somewhere' which illustrates the pain some Puerto Rican immigrants face in America. Ansel Engort is the only recognisable actor to most modern moviegoing audiences, and he doesn't put a foot wrong.
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The only gripe I have with 'West Side Story' is that there's many scenes where the actors speak in Spanish but no English subtitles are provided. Spielberg has stated in interviews that he deliberately adopted this technique so Spanish speaking audiences would not be offended by Puerto Ricans not speaking any Spanish at all like they did in the original. I cannot speak any Spanish so I was annoyed that I couldn't fully understand what was going on in key dramatic scenes. I would have rated this film in the mid 90s if it wasn't for this 'flaw'.
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Starring Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Corey Stoll and Rita Moreno
(156 mins)
Parental Advice: Violence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5GJLwWiYSg (Movie trailer)
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(Reviewed on Saturday 18th December, 2021)
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