2022 Best Picture Review: West Side Story
Anita (Ariana DeBose, left) dances with Bernardo (David Alvarez, right) during one of West Side Story’s many musical numbers. DeBose nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 94th Academy Awards.
Wow, we have a remake here! I feel like that doesn’t happen a whole lot when it comes to our Best Picture nomination viewing parties. This is Erin, writing about Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, which is nominated for seven awards at next Sunday’s ceremony. It is available on HBO Max and Disney+.
“When love comes so strong, there is no right or wrong. Your love is your life.”
I am pretty sure I have always been a “musical” person. Not “musical” like “can play an instrument” or even “can hold a basic tune” but musical in that I enjoy musical theater. I saw my first Broadway show in 2008 and caught the bug from there (thank you In the Heights). I love an expert combination of storyline and music, and I’m convinced that nothing else comes close to holding the emotional power of live theater.
I know that a lot of people have taken a blanket anti-musical stance, but I feel like it just takes one to convert anyone from a hater to an appreciator. I recently stumbled upon a tweet with a quotation attributed to Katharine Hepburn: “I mistrust people who categorically hate musicals. Musicals aren’t supposed to be realistic. Is fiction always realistic?…There have always been good and bad musicals—always will be. [There are] musicals for every taste. So just stay home and watch your evening news! Enjoy all the dismal reality, and leave the musicals to people who can still dream.” Now, is this definitely a Katharine Hepburn quotation? I have no clue and I couldn’t find any clear confirmation online. But I totally agree with real or fake Katharine Hepburn! You may not like South Pacific or Oklahoma!, but it’s possible that you’re just a matinee performance of The Book of Mormon away from running to the TKTS booth each trip to New York.
Now, West Side Story is an absolute classic. Originally written as a stage production in 1957, most of us know it from the 1961 film adaptation, starring Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno. I remember being mesmerized by this movie as a teen. The earnest and dedicated performances, the incredible choreography, the Sondheim of it all! That may be why it won ten of its eleven Academy Award nominations, a record for a musical that holds to this day. It’s not a new story—West Side Story is merely a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But it captures the exuberance and devastation of first love with a joie de vivre that still feels unmatched on screen.
This includes…gulp…our new edition to the West Side Story family. Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler play Tony and Maria, two star crossed lovers from different cultural backgrounds. Tony and Maria are forbidden from seeing each other. You see, Tony is a member of the Jets gang, and Maria’s brother is part of the Sharks, the Jets’ fiercest rivals. Maria and Tony still try to make it work, and if you know anything about Shakespearean tragedies, it doesn’t end with happily ever after.
I actually really liked a lot about this movie. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. The colors were as vibrant and bright as I have ever seen on film. The choreography, while different from the 1961 version, was fresh and held my attention throughout the entire (far too long) runtime. One of the biggest strengths of the film was in the supporting cast. Ariana Debose (a favorite for the Best Supporting Actress trophy this year) was transcendent as Maria’s quasi-sister-in-law Anita, and she did a fabulous job filling the shoes of Rita Moreno (who also has a great little role in the new film). I also loved Mike Faist as Riff, Tony’s best friend. If you don’t know Faist, that’s because his resume is filled with theater credits, rather than film roles.
Ahh yes, this brings me to my big THING, not just about West Side Story, but pertaining to musicals overall: CAST THEATER ACTORS IN THEATER ROLES. I understand the concept of wanting a big name to sell tickets, really I do, but haven’t we learned anything from Russell Crowe’s singing in Les Mis? Will anyone please think of the horror of John Travolta in Hairspray? Do we remember the recent travesty that is Cats?
I totally get and love the idea of casting Rachel Zegler as Maria, a student who was just in her own high school performance of West Side Story. That is such an amazing story. But…babe…Ansel Elgort? Is he really that much of a draw in the first place? I would be hard pressed to find someone who said, “You know, I wasn’t really interested in seeing West Side Story, but when I found out that the brother from the Divergent series was in it, I bought tickets to the midnight showing.” Unfortunately, Elgort is a weak point in the film for me. Every scene with him felt like a break in any momentum that the film had been building around any and all of the other characters. Tony isn’t the best role in the musical by a long shot, but casting an actor with a theater background or even an ounce of charisma (ugh sorry that’s harsh) would have elevated the film further.
Overall, I did enjoy this version of West Side Story. Spielberg is such a wonderful director, I could tell that it was a passion project for much of the cast and crew, and I stayed awake through the entire film (something that is becoming increasingly difficult as I get more and more pregnant). I just don’t know if it added something new and different to the 1961 film, so I would probably just rewatch the classic instead of popping this one on again.
Rating: 8/10