And – It – Is - Fabulous!
The mid-twentieth century West Side Story, play and film, boasted fabulous music by Leonard Bernstein, beautiful lyrics by a young Stephen Sondheim (who just died a few weeks ago at 91), and brilliant, game-changing choreography by Jerome Robbins. Together and separately these productions are considered by many among the three or four greatest musicals of all time. The original film was nominated for eleven Academy awards and won 10, including Best Picture. I’m not an aficionado or a huge follower of musicals generally, but the 1961 movie has always had a special place in my heart. I inevitably tear up during the love scenes and the sorrowful moments of the ending every time I see it.
If you think on it, though, you’d have to admit that the 1961 film is somewhat dated in its approach. (One example: in the opening Jet Song, the line “And we’re gonna beat, every last buggin’ gang, on the whole buggin’ street” was tailored to the puritanical, censorious mind-set of the time, using “buggin’” to suggest the more vulgar real-world term.) And the fact that the Puerto Rican side of the story was given short shrift. Most of the actors playing the “PRs” weren’t even Latino. George Chakiris, born in Ohio of Greek parents, portrayed Bernardo the leader of the Sharks. Most of the other Sharks actors had names like Jay Norman, Jaime Rogers, Gus Trikonis, Larry Roquemore. Same for the Shark girls (as they were called) - Natalie Wood’s parents were Russian immigrants; she was born in San Francisco. Another Shark actress, Noboku Miyamoto (billed as Joanne Miya), is actually of Japanese parentage. The only exception in casting: the great Rita Moreno as Anita, Bernardo’s girlfriend – she is actually Puerto Rican.
And then there’s the fact that, by 21st century standards, the now sixty-year-old earlier film was limited by the technological limitations of its time. You don’t think so? Wait until you see the new production!
The late, great critic Roger Ebert considered West Side Story a good film, especially the songs and the choreography/dancing. But he thought the “book” [the script that connects the songs and creates a narrative from what otherwise would essentially be just a medley] was weak and the acting less than outstanding. In 2004, he noted: “If the drama had been as edgy as the choreography, if the lead performances had matched [Rita] Moreno’s fierce concentration, if the gangs had been more dangerous and less like bad boy Archie and Jugheads, if the ending had delivered on the pathos and tragedy of the original there's no telling what might have resulted!”
And now we know. Because the new movie answers those criticisms … and soars!
All the leads are terrific actors, and all can sing – beautifully.* Elgort and Zegler in particular are spectacular, with the latter’s crystalline voice superior even to Marnie Nixon’s. And, maybe it’s because she is new, but I swear she is a better Maria than Natalie Wood. Ariana DeBose is Anita, the role played in a stunning performance by Rita Moreno in 1961, and DeBose fills those hallowed shoes very nicely with a terrific turn of her own.
[*Notoriously, in the 1961 W.S.S., the singing voices we hear are mostly not the actors. Maria was portrayed by Wood, but her singing voice was Marnie Nixon. Tony, played by Richard Beymer sang with Jimmy Bryant’s voice. Even Rita Moreno, who sings well, had one of her songs as Anita ( “A Boy Like That”) dubbed.]
David Alvarez is a strong Bernardo, giving 1961 heartthrob Chakiris (winner of an Oscar for best supporting actor) a run for his money. Bernardo is tough, but in the hands of Alvarez, Kushner and Spielberg, he is also tender and human. Plus, Alvarez can sing. As Riff, leader of the Jets, we have Mike Faist. He is taller, leaner, less clean-cut and more dangerous looking than his predecessor, Russ Tamblyn. Thus, more credible as a gang leader. He too can actually sing.
As you’d imagine, the sound and picture quality has clearly
benefitted from sixty years of technological advances. The picture is clear and sharp, as is the sound generally and the music in particular. Kushner’s screenplay is as edgy, raw and honest as Ebert would have wanted. It flows naturally in and out of the musical numbers. It gives more context to the action. Along with long-time Spielberg cinematographer Jamusz Kaminski, he explains and shows us at the outset why the turf war between the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks was so fraught in the mid 1950s New York, when the story is set.
The movie begins with a high, slow, monotone overhead view of a destroyed urban neighborhood: knocked-down buildings, piles of rubble, a scene of destruction and desolation; then a broad pan to big machines, wrecking balls and the like; then a visual swoop to an empty lot adjacent to the wreckage and a group of teens and young men – the gang. The area in question is the neighborhood of Lincoln Square (working class whites and increasing numbers of Puerto Rican immigrants) and San Juan Hill (largely working class blacks) was being cleared to make way for the upscale Lincoln Center culture and arts complex. In other words, from the point of view of the gang members, their “turf” was rapidly shrinking. There was not enough to go around. 
[It will be some time before this West Side Story will be available streaming from what I've heard, but if you must wait for that format, see it on the biggest, highest quality screen with the best sound system you can find.]
2 hours 36 minutes PG-13
Grade: A
In Theaters
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