Sunday, March 6, 2022

West Side Story (2021)

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Costume Design    A disclaimer:  I hate West Side Story.  I've never liked it.  I don't like Romeo and Juliet and I've never liked any of its permutations.  It's just not my bag.  So I'm going to focus on the other aspects and leave the story alone.  Content warning:  racist slurs (PG-13 but still), transphobia, and attempted rape

Tony (Ansel Elgort) is on parole for nearly beating a kid to death in a gang fight.  He is trying to turn his life around with the help of his boss and mentor, Valentina (Rita Moreno), but his journey is hampered by the insistence of his best friend, Riff (Mike Faist), that Tony step back in to his former gang, the Jets, and help them defend their territory from a rival gang of Puerto Rican immigrants, the Sharks.  Tony goes to a community dance to set terms for an upcoming rumble, but then sees Maria (Rachel Zegler), the younger sister of the Sharks' leader, Bernardo (David Alvarez).  Tony is now more determined to stop the incipient warfare than ever but Riff and Bernardo only see one path ahead.

Steven Spielberg is a legendary director.  This is a beautiful movie and the cinematography and production design are phenomenal.  Everyone can sing and everyone can dance.  Ariana DuBose is great as Anita, a traditionally star-making role, and Mike Faist probably should have gotten a Supporting Actor nom.  

This version touches lightly on gentrification as a flash paper that ignites the violence between the two groups, which the original did not, and works a little harder to provide more inclusivity.  The character Anybodys is now presented as trans and played by a nonbinary actor.  It still feels like lip service but that's a story for another day.  The Jets are depicted as violent racists much more than the original, which culminates in a much more obvious attempted rape of Anita when she goes to Valentina's store to talk to Tony.  Overall, it feels harder and meaner than the '61 version.  Whether or not that is good is strictly up to you.

It's currently streaming on HBO Max and Disney+.

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