OK by me in America!
Niko Tavernise/twentieth Century Studios
Pretend, only for a second, that you have by no means seen West Side Story. An entire new era is more likely to uncover this timeless romance within the type of Steven Spielberg’s riotously colourful new film model, and fortunately it is more likely to encourage new followers with a dynamic, exhilarating slice of cinema. But boy is that second half going to be a shock.
For those that love the basic present and its daring, brassy tunes, an enormous a part of the enjoyment (or not) of any new model is evaluating it with the altering nuances of earlier variations, from the 1957 Broadway present to the 1961 film musical to your highschool’s wobbily warbled efficiency.
But even should you ignore any earlier information — I admit I’m hazy about whether or not I’ve ever really seen it right through — this new retelling greater than stands by itself two toes (with seven Oscar nominations to show it). Streaming on Disney Plus this Friday, March 2, this West Side Story is an utter visible delight, full of eye-popping shade, heart-pounding motion and compelling characters whirling and flashing throughout a richly drawn metropolis.
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It’s New York within the Nineteen Fifties and the Jets and the Sharks are rival gangs constructing as much as a winner-takes-all battle. Self-destructive Jet chief Riff needs to recruit his outdated pal Tony for an enormous rumble with the Jets, however all Tony needs to do is make eyes at Maria, the gorgeous sister of Shark chief Bernardo.
She’s Puerto Rican, he is an all-American juvenile delinquent, and neither of their prolonged households is pleased to see them collectively. Dancing and singing ensue on hearth escapes and subways, however violent delights have violent ends when the story is impressed by William Shakespeare’s lovelorn tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (who earns one of many movie’s Oscar noms) pull out the visible stops within the first half of the movie, with flowing digicam motion and thrilling manufacturing design offering an enormous and textured playground for every showstopping music or dance quantity. Songs like America explode off the display, and even probably the most intimate of conversations is picked out in lavish major colours. It’s joyous, honest and intoxicating stuff, particularly in these darkest of occasions.
The movie includes a star-making efficiency from luminous Rachel Zegler as lovelorn Maria, backed up by a scene-stealing flip from Hamilton star Ariana DeBose (each gained Golden Globes, and DeBose is up for an Academy Award). Also lighting up the display is Rita Moreno, one of many few precise Puerto Ricans within the unique Broadway present and the 1961 movie. Playing immigrants constructing a brand new life in New York with ambition and panache, this model’s Puerto Rican characters typically converse in Spanish. Even with out subtitles, the essential sentiments are unmistakable.
Niko Tavernise/twentieth Century Studios
Of course, the ending is type of a downer. I do know, I do know, Romeo and Juliet and all that. But the distinction between the thrilling first half and the awful second half is so stark. The second act right here is leached of music and motion, becoming with the emotional devastation. The first half is hope, the second half loss. Life, then dying.
As the story deflates, scenes get repetitive as characters go to one another, on what more and more appear like film units, to cry a bit. The loss and heartbreak are keenly felt, however the longer it goes on the extra it veers towards melodrama.
I’m not suggesting anybody bodge a contented ending onto a basic. But Spielberg and author Tony Kushner broaden and add bigger themes of gentrification or id that the finale has no house for. You cannot open a movie with a literal shot of a wrecking ball after which finish it with out seeing the place every little thing falls.
Ultimately, the central pairing of Tony and Maria must burn with depth to maintain the entire thing. It’s been stated earlier than, however these youngsters actually do fall quick. This model leans on backstory for the pair that may recommend the 2 see in one another the answer to a much bigger craving, for escape or redemption. But their precise meet-cute, the fulcrum to this entire story, is remarkably slight. The slapstick gymnastics of this movie’s rendering of Gee Officer Krupke appear to go on eternally, however the second the star-crossed lovers really cross stars zooms previous all too rapidly. Not to sound like some un-romantic outdated curmudgeon, however a little bit of staring, a fast flutter of dance and all of a sudden they’re in everlasting love?
No quantity of fancy lighting disguises that the couple by no means speak about something besides whether or not they’ll see one another once more, which means that their love should be constructed completely on private chemistry. Ansel Elgort is good-looking sufficient, however opts to play Tony as a laid-back crooner quite than the tortured lover and fighter the script insists he’s. Elgort ambles across the margins of the story quite than driving it with a pressure over whether or not he actually has modified, or whether or not anyone actually can. He’s particularly bland subsequent to sinewy Mike Faist as Riff or muscular David Alvarez as Bernardo and is not the anchor the movie wants because it deflates within the second half. That leaves Zegler with plenty of heavy lifting, and whereas she’s greater than as much as the duty there are lengthy gaps when Maria merely is not on display.
It would even be simpler to root for these two younger lovers if he wasn’t so clearly older than her (Elgort is 27, Zegler 20). Tony is fairly pushy with Maria, typically speaking over or belittling her really very clear-eyed considerations. Even although Tony is supposed to be obsessive about Maria, Elgort’s casualness means you do not have to squint too exhausting to wonder if he is only a shrewd talker who is aware of precisely what to say when he spots a doe-eyed ingenue craving romance.
Despite the stark shift from luxurious, life-affirming dance numbers to numb tragedy, this 2021 model of a basic story continues to be bracing and life-affirming jolt of pure cinema, conjuring breathtaking cinematic spectacle from probably the most intimate human feelings. Its delights are greater than a match for even the violent finish.
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