Directed By Steven Spielberg

Starring – Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose

The Plot – An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, strong adult language, thematic content, suggestive material and brief smoking.

west side story trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

– Contemporary lens. Screenwriter Tony Kushner has pitched himself quite a seamless beauty here, maintaining the familiarity of the original screenplay, while incorporating an abundance of sociological commentary that all but outlines how very little has changed with regards to race relations in the sixty years since that original film. This should ease the worries to some who viewed the remake as an unnecessary opportunity to soil the sanctity of a film that took home best picture, but instead Kushner views the opportunity as a means of linking heritage between cultural generations, echoing the plaguing results that we as a nation face as a result of following the same means to an end that caused so much suffering to begin with. In this case, it’s certainly how violence and racism begets more violence and racism, and while the film more than paints a warmth and vibrance of cultural fabric when these characters are off on their own, it shows how hatred can blind and even inspire people to make such life-altering decisions, taking a story stemming from first love, and fleshing it out with a corresponding tragedy that have defined too many neighborhood legends.

– Master craftsman. Where experimentation does find its way into the film attaining an identity of its own, is in the approach by Spielberg, whose variations in movements and techniques prescribe an alluring consistency of choreography, all the while without taking away from the naturalistic elements of the film’s transformative production design. Certainly, immersive engagement is an aspect to the compositions, spinning and panning in a way that makes us the audience feel like a living, breathing entity in the ensuing musical numbers, but it’s the way his frolicking motions earn an energy in personality that plays wholeheartedly to the whimsical nature of the accompanying musical score, marrying sight and sound in a way that enhances the aspect of each, from one iconic visionary. In addition to this, the imagery itself contains no shortage of profoundness or provocative tendencies in the magnitude of its appearance, allowing the intimacy of a neighborhood rivalry to feel universal in the way it’s depicted before our very eyes, and in the case of Spielberg, solidifying another example of the challenging emphasis that he uses to paint such a diversely intoxicating presentation.

– Precision casting. The nearly unanimous quality of a collection of fresh-faced actors not only attains with it a merit of attention paid to the importance of the story, but also allows us to be swept up in amazement by the force of their deliveries. In this respect, the duo of Zegler and DeBose, who play sisters in the film, are the show-stealers for me personally. DeBose’s fiery infectiousness combined with her tasteful sex appeal conveys a careless free spirit that exhilarates and enhances the energy of her depiction, outlining a character that is impossible not to indulge upon, especially during those moments of musical influence, which she uses to chew up as much scenery as possible. As for Zegler’s star-making turn as Maria, we are not only treated to an operatic vocal range in singing that is entirely out of this world for the measure in notes she’s able to reach without pause, but also a spontaneity in her emotionality that paints an air of frail tenderness to the traumatic instances that often overcome her. Because of such, Zegler feels born for a role like this one, and when placed front and center in the middle of the action, conveys a gravitational pull from such a small figure that she uses to continuously command the attention as the voice of change in a setting that is thirsty for it.

– Pivotal production. It’s a difficult thing to attain merit and believability in the context of a timely setting that is sixty years old, but the channeling of technical aspects more than do the job in seamlessly turning back the hands of time, while attaining more than a few qualities that should earn some Oscar consideration. In particular, the wardrobe and set designers really had their hands full here but rise to the occasion with gowns and trousers of an eclectic range that more than paint a detailed emphasis to the characters and cultural influence of those who don them. In addition, the backdrop itself, especially with it solidifying an actual place in inner city Bronx, fleshes out a uniqueness that is attained with a collection of vintage automobiles and three-dimensional structures that stand out with the same kind of influence and authenticity as those of a stage play, complete with backdrop paintings that capture the immensity of the big apple, but in a proximity that doesn’t prescribe obviousness to the occasion. Finally, the color grading for the wonderful cinematography from Janusz Kaminski, a long-time collaborator with Spielberg, weathers a dusty, decaying emphasis that intentionally outdates the imagery in a way that is artistically authentic of the golden age of cinematic achievement, and when balanced by the air of aforementioned aspects, feels like a film shot in the same age of its revolutionary predecessor.

– Remarkable soundtrack. In “West Side Story” is anything honestly more important than the legendary tracks themselves, combed by the late, great Stephen Sondheim? The short answer is no, and that testament is doubled down upon sixty years later, as I not only feel like the songs themselves flourish with the advancements in sound technology, but also in the talents of the ensemble cast themselves, who actually perform each song they’re given. As previously mentioned, this is where Zegler and DeBose shine the brightest, as each unravel a falsetto pitch that compliments the tracks tremendously, all the while instilling an air of personality for their respective characters that channels the intensity of the abundance of feelings they’re experiencing at any particular moment. My favorites are certainly still “Tonight Quintet” and “One Hand, One Heart”, but what’s more amazing is that tracks I didn’t initially care much for are repackaged in a way that plays more to an enhancing context to the sequences they adorn, allowing for moments of comedic levity that pay a great dividends to the often gripping nature of hefty stakes and circumstances of the street life.

– Righting the wrong. Spielberg makes a lot of decisions that certainly cement this as a step in the right direction, with regards to the respect he pays to the Latino culture, which went almost entirely absent from the original picture. One such example pertains to the Spanish speaking dialogue itself from these characters, which persists without a single subtitle or alleviation to cater to English audiences. This not only prescribes an ironic retort to the abundance of scenes in which English speaking characters are constantly telling Latino’s to “Speak English”, but also cements an awareness to the importance of the language, which Spielberg himself cast great importance over. It serves as a complimentary wink and nod to the abundance of the actors and actresses of the Sharks, to which are all of Latino heritage, and proves how easy and necessary the simplest things craft a bigger impact on the elements of authenticity in a film, especially with one requiring a responsible take on the depth of its cultural influence.

NEGATIVES

– Romantic subplot. Similar to the lukewarm engagement that I felt to Tony and Maria during the original film, particularly for its lack of believability in their materializing love, the remake here doubles down on the occasion, with an awkwardness that forcefully stands out among the mostly naturalistic storytelling and character exposition. Aside from Elgort and Zegler not really having the best chemistry between them, it’s the sequencing of events for their blossoming love that come out a bit too forced for my taste, especially when this film leaves out how Tony discovered her address in the first place, to serenade her during “Maria”. For a film that clocks in at two and a half hours, I wish more time in the film’s first half was spent with them, if only just to flesh out the importance of their bond, which the film repeatedly tells us, rather than shows us throughout. In addition to this, I still have difficulty understanding how a woman could fall even more in love with a man who murdered her brother, but it’s made even worse here, as the complete lack of conflicting emotions by Maria here gives way to a violent shove towards one response that didn’t particularly paint her character in the best of lights and solidifying just why this aspect is my least favorite subplot in a movie revolving entirely around it.

– Unfinished narrative. In adding more of an environmental perspective to the ensuing social commentary that Kushner supplants to this story, we’re not exactly paid off with an arc that successfully resolves matters in a way that justified their inclusion. This is most obviously felt with the conflict of the block itself, primarily with so much cultural heritage being torn down for the inevitability of upper-class housing being built on the grounds. After its initial delivery to set the movements of the conflict in motion, it is never mentioned again, wasting away the opportunity to prescribe some urgency hanging in the balance to a two-and-a-half-hour movie with no shortage of slow spots between its pacing. Beyond this, the ambiguity of the gang warfare itself involving the Jets and the Sharks isn’t addressed with the kind of clarity needed to diminish its dangerous conflict, so where does this leave each of them? Why is one subplot involving a gender-transformation virtually ignored until the moments this character absolutely has to make an appearance? Questions designed by the film itself that we will never know the answer to, and while disappointment in a film is one means of negativity in an experience, incompletion is so much worse, in my eyes.

– Painful indulgence. While not a big problem to conventional cinematic moviegoers, the abundance of lens flare overkill in this film were some of the very worst I’ve ever seen, and most condemning to the integrity of the scenes they influenced. I previously mentioned the authentic aspect of the movie’s production, and its ability to transform you to the age of its origins, but it’s in these sharp shines where my investment periodically broke my concentration, taking me completely out of the beat of the narrative. This isn’t even the worst part, however, as the sharp direction from Spielberg, as well as the impactful cinematography from Kaminski, dwindles their returns with these contrasting reflections that were a chore to overcome with the ferocity of their appearances. This is one cliche that I wish was left with J.J Abrams during the films he stitched together in the early 2000’s, as the necessity for incorporation here does it no favors in the beauty it continuously hinders, and the headaches it continuously prescribes.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-