West Side Story (2021)

West Side Story (2021)

An irresistibly stylish and beautifully performed update on the classic musical

7.9

Movie

United States of America
English, German, Spanish
Crime, Drama, Music, Romance
2021
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Ana Isabelle, Andrea Burns, Andy Powers
157 min

What it's about

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

The take

If Steven Spielberg had just decided to do a straightforward cover version of West Side Story, it still would have been a wonder of music, movement, and color. But more than the lush camerawork and impassioned performances from Rachel Zegler, Mike Faist, and Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, this adaptation is most memorable for its renewed focus on the senselessness of its central turf war. Here, New York City exercises absolute power over the Jets and the Sharks, rendering all this gang violence as a futile attempt to hold on to outdated values in the face of economic desolation. Spielberg might not be able to do much about the story's weaker Romeo and Juliet-inspired parts, but he still finds a way to let this often ridiculed tragic romance serve a greater purpose.

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