THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Ernest Lehman’s West Side Story took the world by storm as it won 10 Oscars in the 1962, including Best Picture, proving itself as the best musical to date. With that kind of success, no one would expect a remake to gain similar praise until it did.
PLOT
The 2021 version follows the original story, but takes the opportunity to add and change new elements to keep things fresh. So bare with me as I summarize this iconic story once again. The film takes place in 1957 New York City, following the rivalry between the Caucasian Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks. When they have a scuffle for control of San Juan Hill, they are separated by Lieutenant Schrank (Corey Stoll), who tires dealing with them both. This inspires Jet leader Riff to challenge the Sharks to a rumble that'll end the rivalry once and for all. He recruits his friend Tony to join them at a public gym dance, which makes him hesitantly join as he is on parole. When he attends, he falls in love with Maria, sister to Sharks leader Bernardo (vice versa). When they get caught dancing, it displeases the Shark who demands Tony to keep his distance from his sister. It is here where Riff has his opportunity to have a meeting with him in the bathroom. Bernardo agrees to rumble unless Tony attends. As Tony goes home, he conveniently finds Maria at home and both agree to see each other the next day. By morning, Maria calls out her brother for being overprotective and deserves a chance to be independent. His girlfriend Anita backs her up by pointing out the benefits of living in America. Maria spends the afternoon with Tony at the Cloisters. Here, he opens up how he was in jail for a year after assaulting a separate rival gang member to near death. He promises to stop the gangs from fighting, in hopes to eliminate the obstacle that'll prevent them being together. When he sees Riff, he finds him with a newly bought gun. He tries to steal it in hopes to convince him to cancel the rumble, but he steals it back and refuses his request. By night, the rumble goes down at a salt shack between the Jets and Sharks. When Tony attends, he tries to be a keeper of peace by begging both sides to stop fighting. He makes clear to Bernardo that he has nothing against him and apologizes for offending him. Little does he know that it's his relationship with Maria that offends him. So when he admits that he loves her, the Shark starts the rumble by fighting him. Tony does defend himself, but holds back from further harm. Bernardo still demands a fight, which results in him drawing switchblades with Riff, ultimately killing him. Out of instinct, Tony avenges his friend by stabbing him in return. The rumble ends when the police arrive, causing everyone to go into hiding. Bernardo's friend Chino takes Riff's gun and tells Maria of what happened, who struggles grasping it. Anita is even called to identify his body at a morgue, heartbroken of losing the man she loved. When Maria sees Tony, she lashes out at him for killing her brother, but chooses to forgive him when he explains it was an accident. Not wanting to lose him as well, they decide to run away together and ask his drugstore boss Valentina, hoping to get getaway money. When Anita catches him leave, she berates Maria for being with her brother's killer, but even she ends up accepting their love. Trans jet Anybodys warns the other Jets that Chino has a gun and is looking for Tony. Lieutenant Schrank visits Maria and questions her about the rumble, resulting in her to request Anita to go to the drugstore and tell Tony she's held up. When she gets there, she encounters the Jets and they attempt to rape her until Valentina intervenes. Out of shock of what could've happened to her, Anita tells Valentina that Chino killed Maria. Valentina condemns the Jets for what they've done, causing them to disband in shame. She then tells Tony what Anita told her, which breaks his heart so bad that he calls out Chino all over the neighborhood, begging him to take his life. Just when he sees Maria alive and well, Chino emerges to shoot him from behind, causing him to die in her arms. When both gangs arrive to see what happened, Maria takes the gun from Chino and blames everyone's hate for what happened, eventually dropping the weapon. The film ends with Chino getting arrested, while both gangs assemble to carry Tony's body into the drugstore with Maria following.
THOUGHTS
After making time to see the original film in 2020, I loved it so much that I didn't think this remake was necessary. When having the opportunity to see this in theaters, it still surprises me to say that I loved this one just as much as its predecessor. Director Steven Spielberg and Writer Tony Kushner are as big fans of the original as the many who have seen and loved it as well, and they knew who how special this story has been. They take great care by not only maintaining its theme, but also bringing the right amount of elevation that made the story feel fresh. Hearing the nostalgic soundtrack again, taking notice of incredible production/costume design and how more active the camera appears, it felt like I was sent in a time warp, having the same feeling of excitement everyone had 50 years prior. Again, the story is timeless because it reminds us how judging someone from the inside is more important the out. For generations before and after the release of the first film, we have lived in a society where our different beliefs ruin our chances of being on the same page with one another. Seeing the race war between the Jets and Sharks is still an accurate depiction of how we still strive for for diversity to this day. It makes sense that this Romeo & Juliet styled romance ends the rivalry because it shows the consequences of unnecessary violence. We obviously wouldn't feel this message without the biggest strength and improvement that is the much diverse ensemble. Ansel Elgort & Rachel Zegler were believably inseparable as Tony & Maria, showing us that if they can love each other, so can we all. Elgort has the chance to bring more depth than expected as Tony, showing him as a guy who just wants to stay good. The decisions he made in the past drastically shook him and off of that, his only goal is to be better, proving how sincere he was from beginning to end. It seems that he falls for Maria because he sensed the kindest heart and felt a gap that was missing. When you hear him sing 'Maria', you do believe how real it is to him. He chose to kill Bernardo because he still cared about Riff, who was the last thing left that was good of his childhood. As sadly expected, he is the Romeo of this story as he chooses his life to end because he couldn't bare to live a life without her. Zegler on the other hand is a goddam force to be reckoned with because whenever she starts singing, it is the most powerful voice you'll ever hear. As Maria, she accurately portrays her as an adventurous woman who craves independence as an adult. She falls for Tony because she believes he's gonna give her the adventure she wants. When you hear them sing 'Tonight' and 'One Hand One Heart', you stop arguing of how real their love is. When you hear her sing 'I Feel Pretty', you enjoy how happy she is and when she defends her love to Anita in 'A Boy Like That/I Have a Love', you know that giving up doesn't exist for her. Sadly for her, she qualifies as Juliet in this story because she becomes dead inside after losing the first man she ever loved. David Alvarez plays Bernardo ten times better than George Chakiris because he does a better job embracing as a humble family man who has to be vicious in return to the world around him. Because of how he goes through the most discrimination, the anger is inside him is hard for him to control. When he saw Tony with Maria, it only riled him up more than ever because seeing her heartbroken is the last thing he wants to see. He becomes the Tybalt in this story for suffering the consequences of drawing first blood. Although Rita Moreno made Anita an icon of her own right, Ariana DeBose sweeps awards season rightfully so for rejuvenating the role. She's more assertive than before because she is just as independent as her boyfriend and is able to see both sides of the world. She rightfully acts as a big sister to Maria because she understands where she is coming from and wants her to be happy and enjoy her new life. Her rendition of 'America' is oh so satisfying because it does a great job explaining that she is enjoying the advantages she never had before. During the climax, she is going through a handful of emotions and doesn't get the chance to think clearly. I don't blame her for slapping Maria because it does sound crazy for her to love her brother's killer. She still chooses to support them because she still wants Maria to be happy. However, this would be her only time to play both sides. Because this is a remake, I thought I was prepared for her scene of being sexually assaulted. I was so wrong by the time I made it to that scene because it felt nothing but claustrophobic throughout. It gets even more heartbreaking to get through when the girls related to the Jets try to save her, something that didn't happen in the original. It did warm my heart though that the girls tried to step in because they knew she had nothing to do with what was happening. It is upsetting of her lying to Valentina, but again, she is unable to think clearly after what she is going through all night and the assault made it worse. She chooses to lie because at that point, she starts believing that Bernardo may have been right of how cruel the world is. In all honesty, it is pretty easy to hate Riff because Mike Faist is that good at being bad. His prejudice comes from how he is unable to evolve with the world around him, feeling completely abandoned at this point. With that in mind, it makes him more vicious and self destructive. But the only thing you can respect from him is his determination to get what he wants. 'The Jet Song' is still a delight because you still understand the meaning of how loyalty lasts forever. One of two characters that caught my attention for being rightfully fleshed out is Chino. Josh Andres Rivera depicts him as a dorky friend to Bernardo, who has his own big heart and wants to do right by him. While the latter prefers arranging him with his sister, Chino couldn't help but want to make a difference as a Shark, wanting to be a man of action to make a difference. He ends up relating to Tony because they have potential, but they couldn't escape the war around them. Seeing him shoot Tony sets the most important message of all that hate begets hate. When you respond to violence with more violence, you're creating a bigger chain reaction that'll lead to more violence. The other character that caught my attention was Anybodys. The first film randomly depicted her as a tomboy, which gets played for laughs and becomes off putting. Here, the character is a trans man who is trying to fit in, which makes the verbal abuse intentionally difficult to hear. She does gain acceptance when warning the gang about Chino, which ends up benefitting her as she becomes validated as a member and accepted for his identity. Giving this layer of pride representation was a good move because it made the character more useful than before. Last but not least, it was bittersweet for Moreno to return to the story that made her a star. As Valentina, she is the female equivalent to her husband Doc, as she is approachable and has the most common sense. The biggest lesson she teaches is that just because you fall in love with someone, does not mean you have to change you are. Her husband may be caucasian, but she still identifies as Puerto Rican. The last song that is soothing to hear is 'Somewhere' because it's about hoping for the better, even when it doesn't look like it could be. Despite respecting the film for making tweaks that fix old plot holes, there were new threads that made things just as confusing. Like first off, how did Tony get the chance to sneak to the dance when he was worried about his parole officer? If it was so easy for him, he should have not worried. I told you guys that I hate continuity error, and I hate to say that I found some here too. During the first set of conflict between the Jets & Sharks, Jets are dumping watermelon from a truck in the middle of the street one one shot. But the next shot shows it happen on the left side. They literally could’ve picked a lane and they missed it. I’ll always adore Valentina for having Tony’s back, but am I the only one tripped out that she had a pinball machine in her store? I freaked out noticing since this movie is in the 50s and those machines weren’t legal until the 70s. They were on the dot with historical accuracy until I saw it. And how come Bernardo didn't notice Maria wearing lipstick? They did go to the dance together, so it's not like he wasn't avoiding to look at her the whole walk there. The quintet of 'Tonight' gets pretty intense to hear because we know shit is gonna hit the fan, but why would Anita sing of her excitement to get kinky with Bernardo after the rumble, in church? In the original, she sang it at home, so it's odd she was sing of such a thing when someone is at an earshot in the most G rated environment possible. And if you want to talk about having your mind blown, it would be how Maria does not notice she was passing by the Jets on her way to work. You can’t be that distracted when you’re in love. I then wonder why didn't Tony toss the gun when he got it? Sure we get a better rendition of 'Cool', but Tony would really be saving his ass if he did. And who told Schrank that Chino had a gun? Bernardo & Riff died from stab wounds and the gangs went into hiding, so he and the cops should have no idea of this. I respect that the tension simmers down during ‘I Feel Pretty’ but I am shook of how the other ladies didn’t lose their shit when Maria tossed the sand on the floor they just swept. There is no way they’d be as careless as her. And I am beyond thrown off of Maria choosing to have sex with Tony on the night he killed her brother. I know we don't think clearly when we're in love, but this is beyond unclear. And I’m even more confused to how Maria doesn’t tell Anita that Bernardo drew first blood. That would’ve been a better argument than saying she is in love. And lastly, why the hell would the Jets hide in the same store as Tony? If they really cared about him, they’d hide elsewhere like the construction sites or the gym. Ignore this, and you'll still love this movie for what it is. In short, 2021's West Side Story is another worthy Best Picture nominee for being a great remake by excelling everything that made its predecessor special. I f you still have deep love for the '61 classic, I assure that you'll feel the same with this one.
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