Run and Tell That: West Side Story (2021)

Note: By now ya'll know that I'm a terrible editor. So be prepared for me to be editing this AFTER I upload it. Also, I'm not a professional reviewer nor do I try to be in these. I'm simply stating what I thought. Spoilers... duh...

"From that first frame on the balcony to that slow walk behind Tony's body at the end she [Zegler] delivers a star performance!"

When I first heard that they were going to do a a new movie adaptation of West Side Story, my first thought was "Why?" I did not understand why one would even attempt this feat, considering the original film is not only a classic, but ICONIC and legendary. The duo of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins created one of the most iconic movie musicals of all time. When I heard Steven Spielberg was making it, I got even more concerned... Spielberg is a phenomenal and legendary director, but he's never directed a musical before. My question of "Why?" was

becoming even more relevant. As the cast list came out and more news came out, I continued to ask that question "Why?" Why would you change Doc, who in the show was a white man, to Valentina, a Latina woman? If the Jets hate all Puerto Ricans/Latinos, why would they be friends with Val? As for the cast itself, I was indifferent to the cast, except for one person (who I'll talk about later.) As well all know the pandemic struck and truthfully this film was put on the back burner for me. I originally had no intent of seeing this film in theatres, I'd wait until it came out on a streaming service. However, when the film came out it was receiving RAVE REVIEWS from EVERYONE and I had to see it myself because I thought, "There's truly no way this movie will be able to stand up to the original." (SIDE BAR: Look... I know in the original movie, that a lot of the Sharks were people in brown face, Natalie Wood and George Chakiris being the main two. Yes, I am whole heartedly against any type of brown face, yellow face and black face and I find it disgusting, but even in spite of that, I cannot deny that their performances in the original film were SUPERB. If that makes me a terrible person, then so be it, but that's my note on the original film. END SIDE BAR) Anyway, I went into the theatre trying to keep an open mind. First and foremost, I get to my seat (It's assigned seating in this

Rita Moreno

theatre, because they have those chairs where you press a button and it reclines) and as I'm wiping it down some guy comes in and says, "Do you work here?" and I said, "No. I'm just cleaning my seat." He then proceeds to go on this anti-vaxxing rant and I thought, "Nope. Not doing this." So I went to the wonderful ticket seller and asked for my seat to be moved and they wonderfully agreed. Anyway, I went into the theatre trying to keep an open mind. I found the opening to be incredibly boring. I wasn't drawn into the world and I quite frankly didn't care about the world, until Maria, Rachel Zegler, entered. I found myself a bit bored whenever Maria wasn't on screen. The film featured an updated screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner, who delivers another glorious script, to no surprise by anyone. While, I was originally against not excited for some of the changes, specifically the new character of Val, Rita Moreno, all of the changes worked gorgeously. I absolutely LOVED the character of Val (who replaced Doc from the stage show.) Her character adds so much depth to the story and to the character of Tony. Having Val sing a beautiful rendition of "Somewhere" and her touching little anecdotes were beautiful. I honestly think that from now on that Val should be retroactively added in every iteration of West Side Story. Another change Kushner made was to the character of Anybodys, portrayed by Iris Menas, who in this version is now trans. I thought this change was so small, but it added a lot of depth to the character. There were some other small changes that I enjoyed, such as Chino now having a character arc and some subtle changes to the character of Maria. However, there were some changes that I did not like though. I did not get the whole "Tony's on parole after doing a year in prison because he almost killed some kid" arc. I found that to be incredibly stupid and pointless. Another change, that I absolutely HATED was Tony fighting Bernardo at

Mike Faist

the beginning of the rumble. It completely goes against everything he is as a character, at least in my eyes. His whole purpose of going to the rumble is to stop the fighting. He kills Bernardo in a fit of rage for killing his best friend. Having Tony have a fist fight with Bernardo before the knife fight between Riff and Bernardo just goes against Tony as a character. The mastermind behind this entire film is the legendary, iconic, world renowned director Steven Spielberg who of course delivers a stunning film. I was surprised at how musical he made his film. He didn't try and justify why the characters were singing he just said "They're singing... So what?" As well all know, Spielberg is a phenomenal director, but I don't think it was anything ground breaking, not compared to some of his other films. The choreography by Justin Peck is absolutely sublime. There were some wonderful nods to Jerome Robbins, while still being fresh and new. The cinematography by Janusz Kaminski was stunning and beautifully showed Adam Stockhausen and Paul Tazwell's gorgeous designs. The film was visually stunning, but I felt that several of the performances fell flat. There were some great featured performers including Brian d'Arcy James, Josh Andrés Rivera and Iris Menas as Krupke, Chino and Anybodys. They all delivered wonderful performances. The superb Rita Moreno portrayed a lovely Valentina, or Val for short. Her character had so much depth and warmth. She served as a motherly figure to Tony and delivers a heartbreaking rendition of "Somewhere". Unfortunately, I found Mike Faist who

David Alvarez and Ariana DeBose

portrayed Riff, the leader of the Jets, to be egregiously miscast. His portrayal of Riff was almost comical, it felt like I was watching a panto production at times. It felt like he was trying too hard, I was getting Joker vibes (That awful Jared Leto version though) and I did not find him exciting or even threatening. I did not believe for a minute that Riff was able to run and lead a gang. On the opposite end of the spectrum was David Alvarez who delivers a wonderful Bernardo. Alvarez portrayed the hot-headed Bernardo perfectly and with a beautiful singing voice and he is equally matched in his talents as a dancer. Alvarez was a knock out. Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita is portrayed by Ariana DeBose. I was very surprised by her performance. DeBose has improved immensely as an actor, but there is one major problem that I still have with her, she isn't captivating. She does not capture my attention. I didn't get that spark from her like I get when I watch Rita Moreno, Karen Olivo or Chita Rivera there's simply no, for lack of a better word, substance with her. At least not that I'm seeing. (I still firmly stand behind that Naya Rivera should have been Anita because THAT would have been an Oscar worthy performance. Her rendition of "America" would have been brilliant and she would have been terrifying in "A Boy Like That/I Have A Love". ESPECIALLY with Spielberg directing her.) The one who sets everything in motion is Tony, portrayed by Ansel Elgort. Elgort is overall decent. He has a decent voice, he's a decent actor,

Rachel Zegler

but he did not bring anything new to the role. I also found his Tony to be extremely predatorial towards Maria. It seemed almost creepy their relationship, I was getting a little bit of Joe from You. It was super creepy. The shining star of the night goes to Rachel Zegler. I mean JESUS CHRIST! Her Maria is absolutely GORGEOUS! Her Maria is strong, fearless and powerful, not the typical ingénue approach that you normally get. This Maria stands up to Bernardo and challenges him actively. Zegler's voice is just as beautiful as her singing, she delivers a gorgeous "Tonight", followed by a witty, fun and exciting "I Feel Pretty" to a heart wrenching "A Boy Like That/I Have A Love". Zegler's gorgeous soprano delivers again and again. From that first frame on the balcony to that slow walk behind Tony's body at the end she delivers a star performance! Overall, West Side Story is a gorgeous film, but it suffers whenever Zegler or Moreno aren't on screen. While it features some stunning performances, if I had to chose between the 1961 film and this one, I'd chose the 1961 film.

"Hold my hand and we're half way there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there. Somehow. Someday, somewhere"