West Side Story (2021)

December 8, 2021 (US) • Drama, Romance, Crime • 156m

Overview

Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.

Director

Ansel Elgort

Keywords

new york city dancing dance street gang love at first sight forbidden love musical based on play or musical interracial relationship racism young love broadway musical 1950s romeo & juliet latino

Where to watch

Free / Included

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Reviews

dfle3

⭐ 8/10

January 13, 2022

West Side story: Gritty morality tale with an emotional punch. 85%

Not having seen the stage production of "West Side story" or its first film version, which I understand is regarded as a classic, I really don't have a point of comparison for this new film version of the long-running musical theatre staple. Of course, with the US being so effective at exporting its pop culture around the world, I was aware of songs and scenes from the original… read the rest.

Chad Jordahl

⭐ 4/10

March 14, 2022

Good production. I liked the performers, except Ansel Elgort as the lead male, Tony, who I found to be uninteresting. I never got into the story or the songs.

A couple of other thoughts:

* Carefully choreographed Broadway-style dance routines severely diminish the menace of street gangs.
* Love at first sight is a myth and is a very bad reason to kill or be killed. (Intense attraction, curiosity, and lust at first sight, sure, but love t… read the rest.

beyondthecineramadome

⭐ 9/10

June 20, 2022

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/it-all-begins-tonight-west-side-story-review<a>

This film is a still (sadly) all-too-relevant story about how hatred infiltrates communities and the struggle to find a place to belong. West Side Story is about creating a home, however, you choose to define the word. Unfortunately, the miscasting of Tony brings down what could have been a near-perfect movie. His r… read the rest.

Filipe Manuel Neto

⭐ 7/10

June 3, 2024

**A very welcome remake.**

I must be one of the few iconoclasts who has not declared here his undying love for “West Side Story”, one of the most successful and acclaimed musicals of all time, and which continues, to this day, to seduce crowds of spectators. As I already had occasion to say then, I expected something else. The story is based on the ethnic conflict between a band of young Anglo-Saxons from New York and another band of immigrants from Puerto Rico, and the unlikely love between the leader of the American gang and the sister of the leader of the Puerto Rican gang. I know that, at the time, the issue was not as delicate as it is today, but I couldn't help but feel that there was a certain prejudice against Latinos. Just think that the main actress was not a Latina, but an Anglo-Saxon whose face was painted and who didn't even sing in the film.

Blessed be Steven Spielberg when he had the idea to make this remake. The film honors the source material and respects the older film, but corrects the biggest errors I had pointed out, presenting us with a more enjoyable view. It is not a work without problems, but they are different types of problems than those I had pointed out for the 1961 version.

The director's attentive and meticulous eye is manifested in the careful design of the sets and costumes, in the very complete and profound development of the characters, and in the extraordinary dance choreographies, metrically designed and executed with the greatest professionalism. I also really liked the design of the locations, and the insertion of the entire story in a New York neighborhood that was about to disappear to make way for a modern office space. The soundtrack and songs are, essentially, those that we all expected to find, and are very well performed by the actors, sometimes during filming, instead of in a recording studio.

One of the aspects that I liked most about this version was the extreme brutality of the rival groups. This time, they don't look like bored choirboys who decided to fight after Sunday mass. Knives, guns, sticks, everything they can use to fight, they use, and they seem more threatening and fearsome, just as you would expect from a gang of authentic juvenile delinquents. I was also pleased to see some of the actors still alive from the 1961 film again, in other characters and roles, especially Rita Moreno, who played a friendly merchant this time. I think it was a good way to honor them and honor their work.

Rachel Zegler is a young Latina, daughter of a Colombian mother, and extremely talented. She is an actress tailor-made for the role of Maria, and made the most of the opportunity to advance her professional career. In fact, she is excellent, sings very well and is quite competent as an actress. Ariana DeBose and David Alvarez are also very good choices and enrich the film with commitment, competence and charisma, especially DeBose, who seems to have a huge personality and enormous personal brilliance. Mike Faist is excellent in his role. As for Ansel Elgort... he tries, he tries to adjust and struggles with the character and the material, but I think he never fully found himself on stage. Something is missing there. But this is my personal opinion.

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