THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Music is an incredible piece of art because it can tell stories. No musical does it better than West Side Story. Based on the Broadway musical by Ernest Lehman, the film takes place in 1950s New York City. There is an ongoing rivalry between two gangs: the Caucasian Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. When they get into a scuffle at the public during the day, they are separated by Lieutenant Schrank (Simon Oakland), who tires dealing with them both. This inspires Jet leader Riff to challenge the Sharks to a rumble that'll end their rivalry once and for all. They plan to have a meeting with Shark leader Bernardo after a dance, but convinces Jet co founder Tony (who has left the gang for some time) to join the dance, so that he can convince him to join the fight. However, he falls in love with Bernardo's sister Maria (vice versa) at first sight during the dance, which displeases the Shark. It is here where Riff takes the opportunity to talk to him and request a meeting at Doc's drug store (where Tony works). When Bernardo takes Maria home and forbids him of seeing Tony again, his girlfriend Anita calls him out for being over protective and the two argue of the advantages in the United States and Puerto Rico. It goes nowhere since Bernardo goes to the drug store and moves forward with the meeting. It comes to an agreement that it will be a one on one fight with between Bernardo and Ice (Tucker Smith). When Krupke abruptly appears, he warns the groups again to not cause trouble. Once the meeting ends, Tony tells Doc of his love for Maria, but his boss worries of how dangerous their relationship will become. By morning, Maria comes to work happier than ever due to the newfound love with Tony. Anita does meet him, but she promises to not say anything. Maria does ask him to stop the rumble, which he agrees to do. When he gets there, it gets intense between Bernardo and Ice. Every time he begs for the conflict to end, Bernardo instigates by shoving and hitting him. Riff retaliates by pulling out a switchblade, while the Shark leader does the same. Bernardo stabs Riff first and out of instinct, Tony avenges his friend by stabbing him. This ends the rumble and everyone goes into hiding, especially Tony. Fellow Shark member Chino (Jose De Vega) tells Maria what he saw, but she has a hard time grasping it. When her boyfriend sees her again, she lashes out at him for killing her brother, but quickly forgives him because she understands it was an accident. Both agree that they should run away and elope, knowing that one in New York will accept their relationship. When Tony leaves, he is warned by Jet Anybodys (Susan Oakes) that Chino has a gun and is looking for him. So, he decides to wait at Doc's store, hoping to get getaway money from him. Schrank visits Maria and questions her about the rumble, resulting in her to tell Anita to tell Tony that she is getting held up. When she reaches Doc's store, the Jets are there and they harass her until Doc intervenes. Out of anger of what just happened, she tells Doc to tell Tony that Maria has been killed by Chino. When the Doc tells him, he calls out Chino all over the neighborhood and begs him to take his life. His death wish is granted just as he reunites with Maria at the park. When both gangs arrive to see what happened, Maria takes the gun from Chino and blames everyone's hate for what's happened in this night. Schrank shows up as well to arrest Chino for his crime. The film ends with Maria and everyone walking away, while both gangs respectively carry Tony's body to prepare for a funeral procession. In the infamous year of 2020, a close friend of mine insisted for me to check this out, to prepare for its 2021 remake. When I got around it, I was definitely caught off guard with what I just experienced. Directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins were able to make such a powerful story to share. Even though this wasn't the first musical I've seen, I was so impressed with how each musical number was able to elevate the story. This movie leaves a big impression on me because it uses its inspiration of Romeo & Juliet to address society: We live in a world where not everyone is on the same page based on different beliefs, which includes race. The race war between the Jets and Sharks accurately reflects the strive for superiority and diversity that is still an issue going on to this day. It makes sense for star crossed love to put such prejudice to an end because what someone is deep inside is more important than what's out. It's clear that we wouldn't get this without such a memorable ensemble. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer were a great match for the lead roles of Maria & Tony. Wood expresses Maria to be an adventurous person and loves Tony because she knows he can give him that. Beymer on the other hand shows off Tony to be the most sincere person until push comes to shove, who loves Maria because she filled a gap that was missing in his life. When you hear the characters beautifully sing 'Maria' and 'Tonight', that is where you believe that the love is real. Tony's death is one of the saddest because like Romeo & Juliet, this is what it took for two peoples to come together, whereas the love of his life is dead inside. It definitely is a controversial choice to have George Chakiris play Bernardo he is a Caucasian actor playing a Puerto Rican. However, I think that he earns his Best Supporting Actor Oscar because he is still able to accurately portray Bernardo as a guy who loves his family but is driven out of anger to protect them from the horror he has to face headstrong, that is discrimination. He disapproves of Tony because he doesn't want him to break his sister's heart. And sadly, his arrogance gets the best of him. Rita Moreno earns her Best Supporting Actress Oscar because she makes Anita a highlight for being the most assertive unlike her boyfriend. I love it when she sings 'America' because she explains how she tries to enjoy the advantages she never had before. She knows that trying is better than nothing. I don't blame her for lying to Doc about Maria because she was downright petrified of what the Jets could've done to her had Doc not intervened. Russ Tambyn gets my attention big time as Riff. He is far from the brightest since he encourages the Jets to be as prejudiced as him, but what you respect from him is how he is determined to get what he gets. And I love him singing 'The Jet Song' because it explains how loyalty lasts forever, whether or not you know it. Last but not least, I'll never stop appreciating Ned Glass because he portrays Doc as the only adult with common sense. He is a soft spoken who tries his best to stay out of trouble. Sadly, he is in the middle of it all, which makes me respect how he intervenes when necessary. I feel like had he been more vocal to both gangs, including Tony, he would've been the unsung hero of the story. However, I respect his gentle presence either way. I may not ever stop loving this movie, but it ain’t gonna excuse the flaws I noticed. First off, I was kinda creeped out of how Tony flips a full soda bottle three times and it doesn’t explode on him when he opens it. I don’t care how cool it looks every time he flips it out. You shake it like that, it ain’t gonna be the same. If I’m gonna address continuity errors, it’s gonna be how I don’t see the band performing for the dance. I know it can’t be a record player connected to a stereo, because that wouldn’t make sense. I’m also confused on why does Doc have his store open at night? I know there are stores that are like that, but this ain’t 7 Eleven. So what exactly makes his store so essential that it needs to be open 24/7? If someone knows, please tell me. The last thing that comes to mind is that I honestly believe Chino had a lucky shot shooting Tony in the end. I know we’re supposed to get a tragic ending, but imagine how funny it’d be if he missed or even get more tragic if the bullet went through both Tony and Maria. I don’t want the latter to happen, but that shot was just too damn lucky. Other than that, I still think you can enjoy what’s given. In conclusion, 1961’s West Side Story earns the Best Picture Oscar because of how each song lands and the message behind the story will forever be timeless. If you love musicals, it would be blow my mind that you haven’t seen it yet before reading this.
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