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Remakes have been a part of the cinematic landscape for almost as long as there have been movies. A Star is Born was originally released in 1937 before being remade in 1954, 1976 and 2018. Scarface originally came from a 1932 movie before being remade in 1983. If the topics that the movie confronts are timely, there is no reason why the movie cannot be remade. West Side Story remains topical to this day, however it does not do enough to prove its relevance in the modern era.
The movie is well acted from most parties, with the notable exception of Ansel Elgort in the lead who does not have the charisma or stage presence for the role. This is contrasted with the rest of the cast, notably newcomer Rachel Zegler who has proven herself to be a great actress in her debut performance. The hype was not misplaced on her and she is sure to have a long career after this role. On top of this, West Side Story marks Steven Spielberg’s debut as a musical director and he does not disappoint. The choreography, set design and cinematography are all at the level one should expect from a seasoned director of theatrical musicals, not someone doing it for the first time. Steven Spielberg makes the case here that he is the most versatile director active today and is a top five director of all time.
West Side Story, at its core, is a modern retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet with the family rivalry swapped out for race relations. It worked well in 1957 for the original Broadway production, it worked in 1961 for the movie, and unfortunately it still works now in 2021 for this newest remake. This is ultimately where the biggest narrative disconnect of the movie takes place as there are some changes but not enough to make the changes flow properly. The movie makes the plot less of a conflict between two warring street gangs and instead changes it to be about a street gang of white punks who terrorize some Puerto Rican immigrants. Ordinarily this would be a good idea to make the reboot timelier, however because the dialogue is not updated, it comes off as a little weird, considering it takes almost an hour for anything resembling a gang to be shown on screen that is not by the group of white kids.
The other major issue is that the relationship between Tony and Maria is oddly disjointed from the main emotional thrust of the movie. By the time we reach the third act, Tony and Maria’s plot weighs into the main plot because it did the first time, not because there is a narrative reason for it. This comes from the updates to reflect modern society, but at the same time it does take some of the bite away from the conflict. The general sense is that the fight in the third act would have happened regardless of whether Tony and Maria existed at all, let alone had a romantic relationship.
Ultimately, every work of fiction has one fundamental question that they need to answer by the end of its run time. That question is “What is the purpose of this movie/series/video game/book’s existence”? Since West Side Story only goes about halfway to make the movie fit into where we are as a society today, it appears as if the answer to that question is just so Steven Spielberg can prove that he can make a musical. This movie is too similar to the original, and not in the same way as Gus van Sant’s Psycho remake, to bring something new to the table and make it interesting. When a film falls apart narratively and the script fails, you can make the movie as beautiful as possible and load up a veritable all-star team of actors from across all cinematic history, and the end result will still be a problem. To be clear, this problem does not apply to the plot of West Side Story, it applies to the fact that the movie does not do enough to warrant why a remake needed to be made. At least this version has actual Hispanic actors and is not led by Natalie Wood in brownface with a fake accent, which is a net improvement all on its own.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
