West Side Story

 I thought I had seen the original West Side Story, but on reflection I think I’ve only really seen bits of it. 

Of course, I remember most of the famous set pieces, but I think on the whole I found the film rather too theatric and somewhat overlong for my liking.

Perhaps I was too young to fully appreciate it.

Who knows.

Anyhow, Spielberg’s homage and remake is a revelation. 

It’s not a theatrical musical filmed

But it is a filmed theatrical musical.

I hope that made sense.

For apart from one or two sequences, the whole film feels real and gritty and totally 1957 New York City.

It’s quite, quite beautiful and breathtaking just to look at.

I totally loved it, even though it remains a tad overlong.

Alvarez and DuBose

Spielberg’s casting is sublime.  

Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler are totally believable and incredibly moving in their lead roles of Tony and Maria. David Alvarez and Ariana DuBose almost steal the whole show as Bernardo and Anita and Rita Moreno creates a new role of Valentina ( Doc in the original) and at the age of 90 (her birthday was yesterday) I am sure she will be the oldest actress to ever win an Oscar, for her rendition of Somewhere literally breaks your heart and makes you want to give her a standing ovation 

Moreno

Zegler and Elgort

Spielberg’s touches are everywhere, enhancing Jerome Robbin’s original choreography and Bernstein’s music into a proper, hyper-real cinema treat. The vibrant set piece America has been bravely shifted from the tenement rooftops at night to the busy streets of the Upper West Side in fully summer.

It’s a truly stunning piece of cinema.

The director has also managed to inject more characterisation into the characters wisely leaving the Puerto Rican cast to speak Spanish when needed. 

The violence is not stylised as it was in the original  and the tension between the Sharks and the Jets is palpable and made very real during the lead up to the final show down.

On the negative side, the musical remains very slightly too long for me, and I could have done without I Feel Pretty aside, as well as the gender ambiguous character of Anybody’s who added nothing to the story

But these are just two minor points for I adored this version which is a real triumph for Spielberg