‘West Side Story’ movie review: A scrupulously woke revival from Spielberg
The director’s adaptation of the 1957 stage musical is a lavish, if barely vanilla tackle the well-known lovestruck youngsters
Steven Spielberg apparently wished to remake Westside Story endlessly. As a toddler, he mentioned it was the one common music allowed in his house and he fell in love with it. So right here is his adaptation of the 1957 musical, the place William Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers are moved to Nineteen Fifties New York with the Montagues and Capulets being changed by warring road gangs, the Sharks and the Jets.
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The Jets are a white gang led by Riff (Mike Faist) preventing for management with the Puerto Rican Sharks led by Bernardo (David Alvarez). Riff’s greatest pal, Tony (Ansel Elgort), is simply again from jail.
When one more battle between the Jets and Sharks is damaged up by the police, Riff decides to problem the Sharks to a rumble. They determine to thrash out the main points of the rumble after a dance. Tony reluctantly agrees to go to the dance the place he meets and falls in love with Maria (Rachel Zegler), Bernardo’s sister.
Anita (Ariana DeBose), Maria’s greatest pal and Bernardo’s girlfriend, warns the lovers of the results of their relationship even because the story hurtles to its preordained tragedy. Spielberg’s adaptation is the second following the 1961 movie. Rita Moreno, who performed Anita within the earlier model, performs Valentina, who runs a grocery retailer, within the new model.
West Facet Story
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Forged: Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Rachel Zegler
- Storyline: Romeo and Juliet get a musical, millennial makeover
- Run time: 156 minutes
Spielberg has maintained the stage setting giving his particular touches and inclusivity, with a transgender character Anybodys, performed by non-binary actor Iris Menas; utilizing a Latino forged; and never subtitling the Spanish dialogue.
West Facet Story strikes alongside easily, the dances are beautifully-choreographed and the leads make for a reputable pair of star-crossed lovers. Nevertheless, it appeared tough to attach with the movie on a visceral stage the best way one linked with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in Baz Luhrmann’s psychedelic William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1996) or Raj and Rashmi in Mansoor Khan’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988).
Even Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton John) from Grease are extra relatable when in comparison with Tony and Maria. And enjoyable reality — if Westside Story’s choreography reminds you of a sure Michael Jackson and ‘Dangerous’, let or not it’s famous that the video’s choreographers, Jackson, Jeffrey Daniel, and Gregg Burge have been influenced by West Facet Story. They did embody the mind-blowing moonwalk sequence although — reward the lord — that many people tried to duplicate.
Whereas being scrupulously woke, Spielberg’s Westside Story is a lavish, if barely vanilla tackle Shakespeare’s well-known lovestruck youngsters.
West Facet Story is at the moment operating in theatres
