West Side Story

“West Side Story” won 10 Academy Awards in 1961 and two Tonys in 1957.  It was such a smash success that no one thought that it could ever be redone.  That didn’t stop Steven Spielberg though. He had big shoes to fill and boy did he fill them!  The story is essentially the same as that of Romeo and Juliet.  If you are a fan of Shakespeare (and I definitely am), you will appreciate how closely the two stories parallel each other.  Juliet in this case is Maria played flawlessly by newcomer Rachel Zegler.  Romeo’s role goes to  Ansel Elgort who plays the love sick Tony.  Tony used to belong to the Jets, a local gang he started with his friend Riff.  But he is on parole, and has been keeping his distance from the gangs.  They are poor, disadvantaged and angered by the demographic changes in the neighborhood they grew up in.  The immediate object of their hatred, and the perceived reason for all their problems, is the Puerto Rican gang headed by Maria’s brother, Bernardo – the Sharks.  As the rivalry between the two gangs come to a boil, Maria and Tony briefly meet at a community dance, and fall in love.  This forbidden love sparks a full blown rumble that has the expected dire consequences.  Every actor in this movie is ideally suited to their part and they perform perfectly.  Some of the standouts are David Alvarez as Bernardo, Mike Fist as Riff, but especially Ariana DeBose as Anita.  She had a hard row to hoe trying to take on Rita Moreno’s Academy Award winning role as the fiery girlfriend of Bernardo, who loves America.  I was especially heartened to see that Rita Moreno was given a role in this film and she even gets to sing a solo!!  Everything about this is top-notch.  Remember, the great Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein wrote the lyrics and score so you know the songs will be spectacular.   The emotional punch caused by a great director, terrific actors, timeless songs and beautiful cinematography had me in tears at the end.  If you see only one movie this year in a theatre, please let it be this one.  Also, don’t forget the Kleenex.