Full disclosure, I was and am a HUGE fan of the 1961 WEST SIDE STORY. I know it’s every detail, every word of every lyric, every emotional cue. Rita Moreno was the iconic Rita. So, I went to see this new Spielberg directed, Moreno produced, 2021 version with more curiosity than expectation. Not forgetting that WEST SIDE STORY was inspired by Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, the general structure of the movies is the same yet contemporary and musical. The 2021 version is grittier. The context of the drama is more developed, setting it in a disappearing New York neighbourhood, which makes the rivalry of the street gangs more a matter of life and death that either the play or the first movie. Rita Moreno is very much celebrated in this new film, with a newly created character and a reallocation of a song. Two musical numbers in the 2021 version paled when compared to the 1961: (1) the dance at the gym didn’t have the battle fever of the original (probably solely due to the incomparable Rita Moreno in 1961) and by moving Tony and Maria’s first meeting from the actual dance to behind the bleachers it lost the transcendent quality of their love at first sight; and (2) Maria’s “I Feel Pretty” scene being moved from a Dress Shop (where the girls worked) to a department store (where they were but a small part of a cleaning crew), despite the clever use of store displays, changed the context from dreaming of a wedding to dreaming of blending into Americana. I also felt that 2021 suffered from the loss of (a) priest, which stripped away marriage vows in a church for promises in a museum (??), and (b) the the loss of the potion separated the lovers and the tragic death of love at the end. HOWEVER, ALL COMPARISONS OR DISAPPOINTMENTS EVAPORATED when Rachel Zegler’s soaring soprano lifted Maria’s first note. It was so beautiful I had to remind myself to breath. Her duets with Amsel Elgort were transporting. What would have been a rating of 7 (good) was made 9 (superb) by Zegler’s performance, making this a must see film. [Musical Drama]

Spielberg can still make magic with a camera. The cinematography, the lighting… many shots evoked the golden age of cinema, bathing the actors in light that makes them shine or shimmer, conveying emotion as well as their acting does. And the cast, for the most part, are excellent. Zegler is a breakout. DeBose lives up to an intimidating legacy with aplomb, radiant and charming in her highest moments and heartwrenching and righteous at her lowest. Speaking of that legacy, Rita Moreno is a legend who brought me to tears; she takes a song that felt simplistic and sappy and infuses it with decades of hard won experience and worn down hope. And Alvarez and Rivera infuse what were stereotypical roles with humanity. So much care was taken to update this story. Anita gets a little more closure. The Sharks get more screen time. Class and race are put into sharper focus. And the choreography invokes the original while being fresh. Most of the music and lyrics still don’t stand out for me, but they’re working with what they have. And sequences like the America number elevate them. Most of all, I appreciate the attempt to represent Latinos so fully. In The Heights excluded the darker skinned; this gives them their due. The biggest slight against the film is Elgort. I appreciate the attempt to give Tony more depth and edge, something he lacked in the original. But he lacks the conviction of the other actors, and his crimes make the romance with Maria even more awkward and unhealthy than it originally comes off as. He feels almost predatory, and Bernardo nails him dead-on when he says it feels like he’s using Maria to feel new and better; she’s a fixation, a symbol. Still, West Side Story is an event, and a great one at that, taking a story with flaws and sanding them out to make it one I enjoy much more.

Another unnecessary remake that tries to sneak into the Oscars of 2022, it is a shame to see how Steven Spielberg now only dedicates himself to creating soulless cinema, like the vast majority of modern films in Hollywood. If you want to see this story well told, just watch the original movie from the 60's.

This is one of the greatest movies ever made! PERIOD!

Probably the worst movie Spielberg ever directed. A real stinkaroo!