Review | West Side Story movie review: Steven Spielberg remake offers a respectable encore to the classic musical
- Set in the 1950s, this remake doesn’t offer a radical rethink of the Romeo and Juliet-inspired love story set in New York gangland
- The choreography is bright and Ariana DeBose, as the sassy Anita, absolutely crushes ‘America’, but on the whole the singing is a notch below the original
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3.5/5 stars
Set in the 1950s, just as the original 1961 film by Robert Wise was, Spielberg’s movie could hardly be accused of offering up a radical rethink. This New York story juggles a few elements, including one significant character switch, but it largely feels like a more expansive retread.
The story follows two rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, whose very existence is threatened by urban development on the Upper West Side.
The Jets are run by Riff (Mike Faist) and Tony (Ansel Elgort), while the Puerto Rican-born Sharks are led by Bernardo (David Alvarez), brother to the young Maria (Rachel Zegler) and boyfriend to the sassy Anita (Ariana DeBose).
While Maria is courted by the young Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera), she spies Tony across a crowded room at a local dance – and sparks fly.
Scripted by Tony Kushner (the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright behind Angels in America and a regular Spielberg collaborator), it sticks faithfully to the arc of these star-crossed lovers as their mutual attraction angers Bernardo, who takes an instant dislike to Tony.
The biggest change comes with the dropping of Doc, the owner of the local pharmacy where Tony works, replaced by a new character, Doc’s widow Valentina (Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar in the original for playing Anita).
Of course, West Side Story will live and die by its song and dance. The New York City Ballet’s Justin Peck choreographs brightly, particularly America, the euphoric number that DeBose absolutely crushes.
Elgort also gives a fine rendition of Maria, although it feels like a strange decision to allow Valentina the song Somewhere, which belonged to Tony and Maria in the 1961 movie, so beautifully sung by Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood.
Compared to Wood and Beymer, Zegler and Elgort don’t quite have the same power or punch, even though their ages are more appropriate to the youthful characters.
Spielberg uses all his experience – especially for the evocatively staged warehouse fight, which is visually splendid.
As a tribute to Sondheim, who died in November, this film is a respectable effort, although devotees of the original will likely shrug their shoulders. But for those who’ve never seen it, it’s a fine introduction to this timeless tragic tale.
