West Side Story

By: Rafael McGuire

Set in the 1950’s on the west side of Manhattan, New York City, two opposing gangs – the Jets (Americans) and the Sharks (Puerto Ricans) – find themselves in a heated battle for the dominance of the neighborhood. These young men have much more in common than they realize. They are in the prime years of their life, and they want to live every second of it. However, a combination of factors (including the prevalent racial hatred of the time and the cultural differences between them) prevents the young men from seeing the best of each other and therefore from noticing everything they share as a community. This Hollywood classic, which is first introduced to us as a Broadway stage play, quickly turns into a modern-day Romeo and Juliet tragedy when a founding member of the Jets falls utterly in love with the sister of the leading member of the Sharks. From this moment on, each gang takes on the role of the Capulets and The Montagues as they do everything in their power to stop the love between the star-crossed lovers.

The opening scene shows the growing tensions between the Sharks and the Jets through a dazzling choreography across the neighborhood in which we are first introduced to the members of the gangs. Shortly after we meet Tony (Ansel Elgort) as he gets invited to a rumble at a local dance by his friend Riff (Mike Faist), the leading member of the Jets. It is at this dance where Tony meets María (Rachel Zegler), a young and beautiful girl who happens to be the sister of Bernardo (David Alvarez) – the leading member of the Sharks. The rivalry between the gangs becomes more tense as Tony and Maria sneak away from their friends and family to see each other. After a dreadful series of events between the Jets and the Sharks, the star-crossed lovers are left with no other choice than to run away to find their happy ending. West Side Story brings together some of the best features of Hollywood classics: the impossible love between two people who will fight to the death to be with each other (Tony and Maria), the desire to pursue the American dream in hopes of a better future (Anita beautifully played by Ariana DeBose), and the pride and fulfillment of a cultural identity even when home is far away (the Sharks).

Although it wouldn’t be possible to choose a “best scene” for West Side Story, the dancing sequence at the gym proves once again why director Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Spielberg had to make sure that the camera would “dance” alongside the performers and with each musical number. Another memorable scene occurs when Tony is on his way to Maria’s place while singing his heart out. At a certain point we look at Tony from above as the camera keeps getting closer to him. The lights of the streetlamps are shinning against the wet ground where he stands, making him look angelical, almost perfect. Within each scene everyone will find something that connects them to a place, person or moment in the film. In other words, it’s not about what we see or hear – it’s about what we feel.

Steven Spielberg most certainly fulfilled the expectations of the younger crowds who will be seeing West Side Story for the first time. The cast is by far one of the best we have seen in a Hollywood remake, some of the scenes have much more detail than the original film (the dance scene at the gym is a good example) and the locations and sets across the film accurately represent the essence of New York, the greatest city in the world. We live in a time where content creators have taken over the media, where we are constantly exposed to new ways of producing audiovisual content. With this new proposal, Spielberg reminds us of the magic and beauty of filmmaking and, most importantly, he reminds film producers and audiences all around the world what storytelling is all about.