If you’re of a certain age, you’ve seen either the musical or the 1961 film West Side Story. If you haven’t seen either, you heard of it or, at a minimum, a song from it. After all, it’s considered a classic in both of the previously mentioned mediums.
It’s also considered one of the most whitewashed works ever made. When West Side Story hit the stage and screen in 1957 and 1967, respectively, those mediums were far from welcoming to people of color. Except for Chita Rivera (Broadway) and Rita Moreno (screen) playing Anita, the casts were white people painted to appear brown and of Latin descent.
Despite that cloud hanging over it, the Romeo and Julietesque love story set in 1957 West Side Manhattan is timeless. So much so, Steven Spielberg has teamed with frequent collaborator and award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner to bring another film adaptation of West Side Story.
Clearly, the previous versions of West Side Story don’t fit where we are as a society today because it’s white people telling the story of people who are more than capable of telling it themselves. Can Spielberg and Kushner improve on West Side Story’s mixed legacy?
In the new West Side Story, the keyword is evolution. The movie is still a Romeo and Juliet-inspired musical at its core and it’s still set in 1957 West Side Manhattan, but this isn’t your English teacher’s West Side Story. Spielberg and Kushner do more than make a few changes – they take it through a transformation akin to going from the Don Lemon who believed Black folks didn’t deserve equality because they littered to the Don Lemon who’s been CNN’s resident Black Lives Matter defender.
The first step in the newer West Side Story’s evolution was its much-needed, more realistic feel. Kushner’s script skillfully sets that tone by incorporating a couple of plot points that blend more pieces of the human experience into the tale than its previous iteration.
He uses the impact of the Lincoln Center’s construction on the neighborhood and backstories for some of the characters to give 2021 West Side Story a grit and historical context that is nonexistent in the first film. Those plot points also open the door for the newer film to address harrowing matters such as but not limited to fear and hatred for immigrants and gentrification’s impact on the poor.
Kushner still includes plenty of work for the pirouetting gangsters of the Sharks and the Jets because it’s still a musical. That being said, his ability to seamlessly merge that with the more weighted parts of the story without dampening it should have him at the top of everyone’s awards season list for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The second and most impressive evolutionary step is the cast. In a total makeover from the overwhelming majority white group of actors in the 1961 film, this cast is overwhelming Latinx and nothing short of incredible with a trio of Latinx women leading the way.
The most electrifying star in the cast is Ariana DeBose. Like Moreno in the Anita role before her, DeBose is special. Her “America” performance is the most spectacular number of the film. Yet, it’s her work in recreating the later heart-wrenching scenes of West Side Story that’ll win you over and have her in the Best Supporting Actress conversations.
As Valentina (a character created for the newer West Side Story), Moreno is also worthy of Best Supporting Actress consideration. She doesn’t have as much screen time as DeBose, but she’s as impactful. Her “Somewhere” performance is as brilliant as it is haunting and epitomizes why West Side Story’s evolution was needed.
The brightest star of the group is Rachel Zegler. She portrays Maria with more maturity and assertiveness than the Natalie Wood version, making the character more like a real-life young woman and less like a fairy tale princess. Combine that with a flawless vocal performance, and it’s clear Spielberg found a gem in Zegler and possibly a Best Supporting Actress nominee.
For all the transformative moves this West Side Story made, the progress stops when it comes to Ansel Elgort as Tony. As a singer, Elgort wasn’t impressive even by karaoke standards. As a dancer, he makes Robin Thicke look like Chris Brown. Although he’s an extremely talented actor, he didn’t have the edge to pull off a gang member in any era, let alone 1957 West Side New York. He’s not film killer terrible, but he just wasn’t a good fit for this role.
The 2021 West Side Story is the best telling of Tony, Maria, and the West Side neighborhood’s story to date. Through what’s hopefully some landscape-altering decision-making both on and off camera, the film is more than just an updated version of a classic. It’s a masterpiece in its own right, and it became that by making an effort to include people of color in telling their stories.
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