‘West Side Story’ (2021) The Most Unnecessary Remake of the Decade
A 20th Century classic is revived but is it necessary?
Stephen Spielberg brings his big-screen talents to a classic from the 1950/'60s. Simultaneously adapting a musical and a film is a heavy undertaking; even for the most skilled directors. This was a bold undertaking; simultaneously remaking a movie and adapting a musical to the big screen.
But it begs the question, why? Why was this necessary? All of this is spending talent on well-known pre-existing material instead of charting a new path. Spielberg could’ve worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda or Winnie Holzman, and established a new paradigm of musical features that carry the same message as ‘West Side Story’. Leave the originals in place and let them stand for themselves as the representation of that work. But this has become all too common in the industry over recent years. Studios seem only willing to invest in material that has a proven track record or existing fanbase. They seem to have lost their appetite for putting capital behind fresh material.
Spielberg and his cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, attempt to add layers as well as flavor to an already well-known story. Most of the choreography neither depart nor challenge the original, instead they add adrenaline by combining quick spins with quick camera movements. These movements separate the movie from its more slow and intimate scenes.
The majority of the cast was great; Rachel Zegler, as Maria, and Ariana DeBose, as Anita, were the stand-out stars. I think they’re going to be two actresses to look out for in the future as they flexed their acting skills by giving stand-out performances.
Especially Ariana as Anita, she captures the entire screen with a vivacious performance. Aside from those two, David Alvarez, as Bernardo, delivered superb performances. He was convincing in his role and really delivered a superb performance.
Antithetical to those previously mentioned; the two who struggled in this movie were Ansel Elgort, as Tony, and Mike Faist, as the Riff. Elgort is a great actor and has showcased his talents in movies such as ‘Baby Driver’ and ‘The Fault In Our Stars’. But he struggled during a number of scenes. It wasn’t believable when he was angry or upset, in fact, it was sometimes uncomfortable to see him try. It's commendable that he went out on a limb for this movie, but this may not have been the movie to take a risk on.
Mike Faist is talented but personally, I wasn’t floored by his performance here. I would’ve liked to see an ediger Riff instead of a bad boy who seems polished. It’s not so much a critique of the actor but more on the filmmakers. Faist certainly has a bright future ahead of him and I hope there will be a lot of movies we can point to in the future.
My personal favorite musical number was “Gee, Officer Krupke” because it was a great reimagination of the original film. Also, it served as a nice reprieve from the movie with some humor from the boys goofing around in the police station.
It’s hard to rate because I feel more inclined to compare it against the previous versions instead of other musicals. This version of West Side Story tries hard to be different while still holding on to some version of the original.
Instead, the filmmakers should have used the same actors and actresses to create a new story. This version of ‘West Side Story’ does not capture the same magic as the original movie or the Broadway play. I realize a lot of people may disagree with my score, but this landed as a 6.5 on my scale.
Barry’s Bites Rating = 6.5
*This article was originally published in the Film Cut
