Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Steven Spielberg always wanted to make a musical. The only real example of it in his career was the thrilling opening of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" with its bright, colorful "Anything Goes" dance number. I am conflicted by his decision to remake "West Side Story," the 1961 version that could use a new spin. After all, it is about the whites vs. the Puerto Ricans in a 1950's slum neighborhood that is about to be demolished. The gang members of this impoverished area include the Jets (with the white kids) and the Sharks (the Puerto Ricans). In the midst of all this hoopla and impending violence, there's the "Romeo and Juliet" love story angle of the Puerto Rican Maria and the white Tony who likes to be called Anton. As in the 1961 version, I still think this mixture of love and gang violence doesn't quite gel but it is nice to see a real master like Spielberg try.
The story follows the original film and the stage musical pretty much beat by beat. Maria lives with her patriarch-like and overprotective brother, Bernardo (David Alvarez), a boxer, and his feisty girlfriend Anita (Ariana DeBose) in one of those tenement apartment buildings with clotheslines stretching from one building to the next. We also get those fire escapes where Tony, having fallen madly in love with Maria at the dance, hangs on to those railings as they both profess their love for each other. I never bought it in the original and the revved up gym scene doesn't really convince me of true love either. I will say that the dynamic, emotionally forceful Rachel Zegler and the charming Ansel Elgort (who rises above blandness by showing his tougher side) are a more charismatic pair than dear Natalie Wood (her most passionless performance) and Richard Beymer who expressed love to Maria with the attitude of a pigeon (sorry to the fans of the original). Still, the whole rumble of both film versions with the tragic denouements carries a charge of volatility. What doesn't function from a narrative point-of-view is Maria's response to her brother being killed - it is like she lost an expensive bracelet and her character gradually grows unsympathetic. She cares more about Tony and I never understood why this glaring character flaw still persists.
If you like the Shakespearean love angle and the electrifying Stephen Sondheim musical numbers of "West Side Story" with its uplifting early musical numbers (my favorite is the rousing, stomp-your-feet-and-celebrate "America" with its defining lyrics about what it means to be an immigrant), then Spielberg's whiz-bang treatment will knock your socks off. Ariana DeBose holds her ground as Anita and Rita Moreno has the new role of the pharmacist's wife who tries to talk her son, Tony, out of having an interracial romance. Moreno sparkles the screen especially when she sings "Somewhere" with great sorrow. This 2021 version will entertain like the original and, despite noticeable improvements and minor changes, there is little to distinguish between the two. I just wish Spielberg opted to make a musical we have not seen countless times before.
