Another Take: ReelBob: ‘West Side Story’ ★★★½

Steven Spielberg's brilliant updating of an iconic musical adds texture and complexity to this modern-day "Romeo and Juliet"-inspired love story.

Remaking a classic or popular movie can be a problematic gamble. Fans of the original may nitpick or dismiss the new version, for no discernable reason but for love or loyalty.

Thus, a few years ago when Steven Spielberg announced he was filming a remake of “West Side Story,” some skepticism quickly arose.

The 1961 version, codirected by Robert Wise and choreographer-director Jerome Robbins, won 10 Academy Awards — including best picture, best director for Wise and Robbins, best supporting actor for George Chakiris, best supporting actress for Rita Moreno, as well as best cinematography and film editing.

Spielberg’s version improves on some aspects that dated the ’61 version, most notably in the screenplay’s dialogue and the era’s cultural, ethnic and sociological issues.

The updated movie’s opening immediately sets its subtext — the loss of neighborhood. Under the iconic whistle motif and overture is an overhead shot of rubble from demolished buildings being cleared off New York City’s West Side to make way for the new Lincoln Center complex.

(Ironically, that is the neighborhood used for locations in the original. Demolition on the site to build Lincoln Center began after filming was completed.)

The neighborhood presented by Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner is a changed landscape that the Jets, led by Riff, desperately fight to keep.

They defiantly dance through a thriving area filled with Puerto Rican-owned stores and businesses, disrupting and vandalizing shops in a futile attempt to retain their turf.

Kushner’s update adds an ironic subset to the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks. They are lashing out at each other to retain territory that, within months, will be displacing them. Progress — and city hall — it seems, is the most powerful gang in the city.

The tragic inevitability that propels this contemporary “Romeo and Juliet” love story is not so much the death of characters, but the demise of community and all that entails — good or bad.

And for all their bravado and posturing, members of both gangs understand how powerless they are against advancement.

The cast, with one notable exception, is solid, especially Mike Faist as Riff, Ariana Debose as Anita and David Alvarez as Bernardo. More about them later. Traditionally, these always have been the showier roles in any production of “West Side Story.”

Unfortunately, Ansel Elgort is miscast as Tony. He is too pretty and looks more like a young movie star than a scrapping, New York City delinquent, especially when compared to the members of both gangs whose dirty clothes and scruffy appearances give them a live-on-the-streets aura that Elgort’s Tony lacks, especially given the back story Kushner has created for the character.

It seems Tony served a year in prison for nearly beating a member of a rival gang to death during a rumble. Tony knows he has an inner rage that he must control and exudes a lot of effort to do so. Elgort’s performance, though, feels as if he is exerting too much energy to appear tough.

Elgort’s singing, though, compensates somewhat for the deficiencies in his portrayal. His voice has a sweet and mellow tone.

Newcomer Rachel Zegler is a charming Maria, with a pleasant innocence. And to accommodate contemporary sensibilities, Zegler’s Maria has more of a backbone and sexual awareness than the innocence displayed by Natalie Wood in the 1961 film.

Her singing is full-throated and expressive.

When he is on screen, Faist’s Riff is riveting. You cannot take your eyes off him. He is quick tempered and ready to attack any obstacle with his fists. He has difficulty translating his thoughts to cohesive words. He is more comfortable fighting than articulating.

Alvarez’s Bernardo is the other side of the same coin. In this iteration of the character, he is a boxer who finds it easier to slap and punch than talk.

As portrayed by Debose, Anita is the adult in the room. She is a pragmatist, totally in love with Bernardo. She knows how to muzzle his anger and keep him focused.

She and Bernardo live together, sharing their apartment with Maria. With no production-code restrictions — as there were in 1961 — it is no shock that the unmarried couple live as man and wife.

Justin Peck’s choreography is a homage to Robbins’ work, but it also is simplified and less stylized. It does not bring attention to itself as did Robbins’ dances.

Spielberg maintains a comfortable pace for a 156-minute movie. It never lags.

One of the most notable changes in the script centers on the song “Somewhere.” In the play and 1961 movie, it is a duet sung by Tony and Maria after the deadly rumble.

In Spielberg’s version, it is a shining moment for Moreno as Valentina, the owner of Doc’s drugstore. She sings the song as a lament, a sorrowful dirge to the young lives lost, wasted and wounded. (And, unlike the 1961 movie, her voice is not dubbed.)

Another significant modification involves the character of Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera). He is not a Shark, but a close friend of Bernardo. Chino has a job and is going to night school, studying to be an accountant.

But the death of Bernardo pushes him to fatal extremes. This character modification is one of Kushner’s more poignant creations.

If you are a fan of the 1961 movie, do not fear. Spielberg’s film makes a wonderful companion piece, keeping the spirit of both the original Broadway musical and the Oscar-winning film, while adding relevance that makes this new version a compelling and touching equal.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap substack and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

WEST SIDE STORY
3½ stars out of 4
(PG-13), violence, language, suggestive material, smoking, thematic content