Definitely, a spoiler is coming. It’s been a week and I still could not stop thinking about it. Mike Faist. Mike Faist. Mike Faist. Ariana DeBose. Ariana DeBose. Ariana DeBose.
This is probably my most anticipated film release during the pandemic. It was scheduled for 2020, but some parts of the world had just gotten a little better so they were fortunately ready for more people in the theatres. This was especially special to me because “West Side Story” is one of my favorite musicals of all time — could almost tell the chimes, the low brass, the clave rhythm, or Huapango music, not only because I had been lucky enough to play some songs in the orchestra, but of course, it’s music by Leonard Bernstein and Sondheim’s lyrics that have just really stood the test of time for people like me fall in love with it like a human.
First, let us thank everyone involved; director, production, choreographers, assistants, costume, set, lighting, editors, marketing, and many other crews.
So many things have changed, like how fire escapes are definitely not the safest thing nor effective when there’s an actual fire, but I’d still flutter when I hear “today, the world was just an address…a place for me to live in, no better than alright.”
The original material and how it was done back then, surely has a lot of eyebrow-raising issues (I mean, how could you process your lover’s death, and dealing with your lover’s sister who loves the murderer? Damn, give Anita a break) — we can be as critical as we want: eventually, it is a fiction. However in doing so, a fiction has the limitless potential of representing various cultures more accurately and stories better. No one is doing it perfectly yet on a large impactful scale so we are setting ourselves to a much higher standard.
Authentic casting
As soon as it was announced that dir. Steven Spielberg was making a West Side Story remake, we had our ears and eyes on every casting possibility. They opened an audition for Maria. We were ecstatic about Anita being portrayed by Ariana DeBose, a SYTYCD season 6 alum, ensemble cast in various Broadway productions including Hamilton, who has just recently blown us away in The Prom (the movie) and AppleTV series, Schmigadoon. A very talented newcomer, Rachel Zegler (her mother is of Colombian descent), was cast as Maria with an open audition for a much younger aspiring actress — she just graduated high school, let that sink in. A lot of the Jets characters and dancers are all Latinx, including David Alvarez, a Tony-winning actor from Billy Elliot the Musical, fellow SYTYCD alumni, Ricky Ubeda and Gaby Diaz, whom we could see being paired together in some of the big dance numbers. With the inclusion of more actual Spanish speakers than the 1961 film, they definitely took the chance to have more dialogues in Spanish and without the subtitles, as sort of to make them not as the obvious “foreigners”, putting them against the “main races”.
We also must not skip the fact that a trans/non-binary actor (please, correct me), is portraying Anybodys, Iris Menas. Anybody is someone who tried to fit in with the Jets but never got accepted — rather bullied by the gang, then eventually Tony accepted them. “You’ve done good, buddy boy”, then you could see in his (the pronoun for the character) eyes that it was such a relief that someone finally saw his.
It feels like it was just yesterday that we had a movie musical about Washington Heights in the middle of this year — we can celebrate another representation on the big screen after “In the Heights”, and still have to acknowledge the lack of darker Latinos representation, like Ariana DeBose who is an Afro-Latina. Whether a character is obviously LGBTQIA+ or queer coded, it will always spark debate and rejection by some groups, but let’s just say that through this film, the underrepresented has won yet again.
Bolder characters.
The actress playing Maria, Rachel Zegler, has mentioned in several interviews that she intended Maria to have more agency that she could stand up for herself. And that’s what she did. I think that her Maria was not only internalizing the clap back or the unwillingness to succumb easily to her brother or Anita’s expectations but was visibly showing her not backing down. Even when she was quiet, saying nothing, we could tell something was rumbling underneath. She isn’t just introduced as being in the city to get married, but she had expressed she had goals for her future, and she has been working hard like her brother, Bernardo, being a boxer, and Anita, being a seamstress. She‘s also not as clueless, because she knew the consequences of her choosing to be with Tony — she understood the dynamic of the groups and asked if Tony can help stop the fight. In the 1961 film, I felt that Chino almost faded and was solely focused on the act of revenge, but we could see how he reached that decision more in the 2021 film when he confronted a few Sharks grieving, celebrating Bernardo as a hero, in the boxing ring — the build-up, and the consequences that he was willing to take if he ever commits a crime, were really presented when he was questioning if he should do it or not, considering all he had worked for. Chino wasn’t only that jealous meant-to-be husband, but his desire to join the rumble and take revenge also stems out from his need to protect his community — be together with his people, rather than just advancing on his own as an accountant. Does he want to be the “model immigrant” or the one who stands by their community?
I also did not recall that the Jets, especially Tony, had a tragic back story (of having almost killed someone in a fight and that he is on parole) or the Jets’ unfortunate childhood or teenage, other than through “Gee, Officer Krupke” (I prefer the 2021 version, by the way) because an officer told them that they were the unwanted babies from men who “messed around” in the city, while their family has moved out to a better place with brighter future. I personally started to see the Jets not just as a group of delinquents who have gone too far. The police office dance number was really fun and is probably the most drastic change in choreography. Let’s insert the “who’s the actual villain of the story” meme and the answer is the government and enforcers of the building clearance that threatened to evict both the White and Puerto-Rican neighborhood to make room for the Lincoln Center, which makes us wonder, what was the point of winning the territory? The Sharks, singing “La Borinqueña” in the beginning, also has a solid background of being an immigrant and that the community is proud to be Puerto Rican, as if not allowing the Jets to take all the spotlight during the “pity party”— the identity and struggle which were not explored until “America”, so they weren’t just another group of delinquents from the other block as they have decided to settle there and would not go anywhere. Tony’s back story also makes his character have more contribution to the plot in the 2021 film because after Riff and the Jets purchase the gun (so easy, apparently), they have the number “Cool” performed before the rumble, as Tony was trying to take the gun from them, as opposed to the Jets performing it (spoiler alert) to lay low after the rumble — and the two casualties. Tony was already very resistant even after going to the gym, still tried to stop the fight, and was contemplating if he should be there or not, but we know how it ends, and the anger on what happened to Riff really came through.
Even the “background” characters like the Jet girls (one of them was Maddie Ziegler, so beautiful!), who were grieving about Riff’s death at the Doc’s store, refused to be a bystander when the guys were intimidating Anita — despite being in a different gang, they also know how women should not be treated.
How could Mike Faist make me forget the first few times I saw him before? When I say, he was a Riff — he freaking was Riff. Everything just fits so perfectly. Beyond the physical look — the gift of looking soft, easy to be underestimated, but an all-around athletic performer. It really felt like I was watching through his eyes while I was actually looking at his eyes every time he’s on-screen. Every time he walks, it just oozes conviction that we are seeing what he wanted us to see. Yes, he would be a great Fred Astaire or Donald O’Connor just by his dance skills alone. The acting? A revelation. I really want to describe how he speaks his lines but I’ll probably need more time — but all in all, you could really see the charisma built around his resentment and bonds with the guys — that I now have come to understand. I, too, would flock to him. Don’t get me started on his interviews that are just always very eloquent and seem like the universe is expanding as he utters a word.
Choreography. Chef’s kiss.
Justin Peck is a brilliant young choreographer. I remember watching the Ballet 422 documentary, several of New York City Ballet dances being in awe at his process, and the more recent works such as the Carousel revival and The National’s “Dark Side of the Gym”.
I noticed the Jets had a more prominent opening dance number that showcased the incredible range of the dancers (I see Jess LeProtto, also a SYTYCD alumni, Kyle Allen) while the 1961 film has both the Sharks and the Jets casually dancing on the streets and sort of teasing the confrontations.
There’s this three seconds in “Dance at the Gym” where Anita and Bernardo really took my breath away. David Alvarez (Bernardo) did a pirouette and a double tour — this makes sense when he was a Billy Elliot on Broadway. He also makes Bernardo a more rootable character, not just the firm and stubborn brother throughout the film. Next to him, Ariana spinned on one leg so beautifully. David-Ariana partnering in lifts was definitely something that’s been missing a lot in my life.
Can we take this film as one of the prime examples of having actual stage performers, who could deliver consistency and presence, that a directing genius and precise camera work can capture the beautiful choreography? As I mentioned, there were SYTYCD alums. Definitely Broadway performers too.
We don’t get too much of the facial expressions, transition shots, or close-ups of body parts. Dance is a language of the whole body, so it only makes sense that we get the full shot of everything — especially when it’s “America”. If we can be a bit salty for a bit here, the industry tends to favor a performer and have them supported by either a pitch correction or body double.
Speaking of “America”, bringing the number to the street is probably one of the best changes in adapting musical theatres into a film. Sure, the rooftop scene in the 1961 version was very iconic. We will always remember the red-purple tone contrasting the evening sky — but we’ve just only gotten to see the street of New York when the Jets was causing troubles, and them clashing with the Sharks. So why not show more of the vibrance of the New York City neighborhoods in the morning, perhaps, after Anita is done with the laundry. The lyrics change is also a way to still bring in the story, the two sides of the coin, without perpetuating the bad images (you know, “the ug*y island, tr*pical diseases, n*tives steaming, and the p*pulation growing…). Justin Peck has no issue with choreographing a dozen of dancers and still make them very dynamic, not too crowded to fit in a frame. Everyone glided beautifully as the brass and percussion were glaring. As a result, “America” is probably the magnet for the film because they just excel in both technical and performance aspects. The Shark girls show incredible showmanship (on heels) on screen despite having to shoot everything during the heatstroke. Justin Peck is a treasure.
The other big change.
By replacing Doc’s character with Doc’s widow, Valentina, played by the Rita Moreno, obviously we were about to be handed something impactful in the second act. Her role is especially more meaningful because of the context that she had welcomed many Jets when they were kids, and how she was able to love someone who isn’t Puerto Rican — the star-crossed lovers that inspired Tony. It adds layers to Tony’s openness with Maria because he has been able to see beyond people’s culture, It was even more heartbreaking that when Valentina tried to console Anita after being assaulted by the Jets — “mija, mija”, Anita then refused and yelled back at her, “yo no soy tu hija! Traitor! Tu le das techo a estos puercos!!”…She told Valentina that she has helped to raise pigs. Valentina is a Puerto Rican woman, who of course felt the horror at the scene. This is also another change that I’d like to point out, because Anita’s line, goes something along the lines of “if I ever see you lying on the street bleeding, I’d spit on you” that just really shows her disgust — that she will never ever forgive Tony, and the Jets. Then Doc says, “when do you kids stop? You make the world lousy.” To which one of the Jets replied, “we didn’t make it, Doc” giving the nuances that somehow they were shaped to assault others. While Valentina’s last words to the Jets were “you dishonor yourself.” Valentina was extremely disappointed with the Jets and she made sure they know that they could’ve done better despite what the world has thrown at them when they were younger. If Jets could find a safe place in the Doc’s store ran by Valentina, it is just confusing why can they see people the way they see Valentina? Anita’s final stab in the 2021 movie is “yo no soy Americana, yo soy Puertorriqueña”, which translates to “I am not American, I am Puerto Rican.”
Oh, Rita Moreno sings “Somewhere” instead — a full-circle moment as she turns 90 years old. What a presence of light.
Rita/Valentina has had a fair share of struggle with them being of Puerto Rican descent, as an actress/Doc’s wife — it’s been 60 years yet we still see how people of certain cultures, especially women, are still being put in a difficult situation. So, we could really feel the yearning for change — “…we’ll find a new way of living, we’ll find there’s a way of forgiving, somewhere…”
Worth mentioning.
The “A Boy Like That” and “One Hand, One Heart” are my favorite two couple scenes. They decided to have less theatrics — 1961 has Tony and Maria playing around with the mannequins as if they were their families right before their wedding (that would never happen) then proceeded to “have” a wedding ceremony in a basement of a shop, while the 2021 film has them walking inside a church, where Tony finds sanctuary and opened up about his past, then to proclaim his love to Maria, with a few Spanish sentences help from Valentina. I think this is nice considering how people from different cultures would try to speak another language as a surprise or a romantic gesture. It punches me in the gut more knowing that the two families would not even get to meet each other but putting the “men need women to save them” complex aside, it is nice to see that a leading character could have a goal to be better. And how Tony and Maria spent time together without no one knowing (in the 1961 film, Anita was also in the shop when Tony arrived and she let them be although still with a bit of disagreement), making Anita’s shocked reaction when she saw Tony leaving Maria’s room more painful than a jab on the heart.
“A Boy Like That” was just as heart-breaking as my first time seeing it. One thing that struck my heartstring, is when Maria asked, “can you (forgive Tony?)” and Anita replied, “you can’t ever ask me that.”
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“Te quiero, mi nina, but he will have to go away…and you have to go with him.” Imagine going through the pain of losing someone, then completely shut yourself down from the people who will remind you of the pain.
I wrote in the beginning that we should give Anita a break. I am probably biased but Anita/Ariana DeBose is the tr*mp card if we are allowed to single anyone out. Anita was the character who we cannot take our eyes away from. The ending wasn’t just about Maria choosing not to shoot anyone and her outcry making everyone realizes that they too knew how it feels to lose someone — not letting hate take over, but also Anita’s strength and understanding a position of a woman who’s in love, after losing a man she lost, and not allowing her to quest for revenge. The weight of her decisions, the betrayal she’s received after dedicating her whole life to work hard to be in America, and yet she was badly treated by the people she never had an issue with.
From Ariana leaving the So You Think You Can Dance competition very early, having multiple Broadway credits, now a Tony-nominated actress who’s appeared on two big musical releases on OTT service. I hope the world gets to fall in love with her more, celebrate her journey in the past decade, and pray she’ll snatch all the awards next season. She’s the walking billboard for “things will blossom when we continuously pour our efforts, love what we do, and be patient” that we really need these days.
When it arrives on the OTT streaming service, you can bet I will talk for days non-stop about it.
