As we close in on the last three months of 2020, it feels like movie studios have been playing a game of chicken. It’s not so much a game of if they will pull their movie until 2021, but who will be the last to budge. Sure, Tenet (2020) and The New Mutants (2020) technically already won the game of first released, but there’s something fun about guessing if any of the major Christmas releases will actually be around in December, meaning we won’t have any excuse to escape the terrifying doldrums of the family for even a few hours. Then again, if things hold up, they won’t even be around.
The latest contender to pull out of the game was Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story (2021). It’s arguably one of the biggest movies of the year and one whose profile comes with a terrible sense of curiosity. One has to ask themselves how you could ever remake a classic like West Side Story (1961). That film was nearly flawless, setting the gold standard for choreography and shot composition for movie musicals ever since. Sure many have come close, but I honestly believe that the number of directors who can pull off the genre in 2020 can be counted on one hand. I have never believed Spielberg to be on that list. Sure he’s great at action, but where was he ever a master of dance?
To be fair, I don’t know what a Spielberg musical looks like. I don’t know if he has a deeper sentimentality for the genre that I have been missing out on. However, I am more confident seeing this remake in the hands of someone like Damien Chazelle or Rob Marshall; people have repeatedly proven themselves capable of magnificence and craft. For Spielberg, especially in 2020, I think of the man who is transitioning into crowd-pleasing dramas like Bridge of Spies (2014) and The Post (2017), very complacent movies that are more about the in-between than any big set-piece. Frankly, I’d go so far as to argue that those are his only truly great movies in the 21st century.
But one has to ask themselves if West Side Story is even worth remaking or updating. What could Spielberg do that Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins didn’t do better almost 60 years ago? When we think of classic musicals, we think of West Side Story, and the iconography has become so familiar. Natalie Wood IS Maria. Richard Beymer IS Tony. Why would you argue with a film that set Rita Moreno on track to become the only EGOT winner solely off of acting wins? There’s so much that is immediately lovable about the film. These are the images of classic movie musicals, up there with Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and The Sound of Music (1965).
Why tamper with a classic?
To be honest, the remake process is spotty at best. I’ve held my heart open for many films that I wished were much better than they were, and all because I believe there is a reason that a new vision could help. For all I know, Spielberg’s first musical will not deliver what we want. However, I want to say that he’s a technical wizard, even in his later years, and will at least shoot it very well. However, I think to understand why I’m not a complete skeptic on this is to understand something about the show: it has evolved.
When West Side Story hit Broadway in 1957, there were different codes for what was acceptable in a musical. We don’t get to something like The Book of Mormon’s “Hasa Diga Ebowai” overnight. Much like the Hayes Code that caused early cinema to be tamer, Broadway had to comply with obscenity codes. For instance, lyricist Stephen Sondheim wanted to make the first musical to use profanity. The issue with this is that doing so would cause soundtrack pressings to become difficult to sell records across state lines, as it was considered illegal. I’m pretty sure those with even a passing knowledge of playground cursing will notice how they got around this (why do you think they say “fugging”?).
There were limitations to what the show could be during its initial run. Not only that, but one could argue that a show written by Three Jewish White Men doesn’t fully understand The Hispanic Culture. Sure, one could channel motifs into the show based on their observations, but the level of bilingual culture and code-switching didn’t feel prominent in the show. These were rebels who sang songs to Leonard Bernstein’s quasi-jazz music. It was the style of the time and it works, but it also shows how much “of its time” the show truly is.
There wasn’t a bilingual version of the show until 2008. At other points, they’ve made the show darker and more appropriate for the evolution of theater. There needed to be an edge to believe that these dancing gangsters weren’t more than caricatures. Considering that it’s one of the most revered songbooks in musical history, it’s doubtful that the show will ever be pulled for long from the stage. It will be continually retooled to meet the new standards. This isn’t some offensive deceit of the creators. In the case of the 2008 adaptation, Sondheim went on 60 Minutes to discuss why he actually endorsed it.
Art needs to continually grow, and I think in 2020 it’s easier to point out how even something as significant and good-intentioned as West Side Story would need an upgrade. After all, nobody goes to see it on a stage and yells that George Chakiris isn’t there. It’s adaptable, able to be played by a variety of actors. So long as you have the dance and vocal training, I’m pretty sure you may be able to make the dream ballet sequence into something breathtaking. After all, West Side Story’s one redeeming factor, which will never be scrutinized even if everything else becomes somehow “problematic,” is the dancing and gorgeous photography.
Everything else is up for interpretation. The truth is that I really love the 1961 film with all of my heart. It’s a major reason that I’ve gotten into musicals as an art form. Having that film on regular rotation as a child definitely helped and I think it’s what works best about the show. It may be melodrama, but the way that the colors and music convey its message is so breathtaking. Still, to think that West Side Story is limited to 1950s New York is a bit foolish, especially since themes of Puerto Rican immigrants being marginalized by society hasn’t, unfortunately, been entirely zapped out of the social contract.
Still, I am able to watch the film and notice that one of the reasons that it works is because of studio magic. If you watch it without any knowledge, you’ll never think anything is wrong with it. However, it becomes clear that this is one of the best stitched together movies of all-time.
For instance, the role of Maria is theoretically problematic by modern standards. In a time where The Farewell (2019) director Lulu Wang called out Ron Howard for directing a biography of Chinese pianist Lang Lang, it’s obvious that there’s a need for more authenticity. Whitewashing is something that’s not as tolerated anymore. However, in 1961 it was easier to get away with, and it’s to Wood’s credit that she is adorable enough to not come off that offensive. She is a white woman playing Puerto Rican, and her accent is never a distracting caricature, even from under a subtle make-up job. And, in something that was more common practice at the time, her singing voice being dubbed by Marni Nixon.
Almost everyone in the cast was. You can’t deny that it’s all convincing enough that it doesn’t detract from the movie. Still, between having to be a tamer version of a murderous gangster narrative and casting actresses mostly on star power, the movie is actually pretty dated. The reason that it works is that Wise is just that good of a director. His use of color in the film is breathtaking. Even at three hours, the pacing never drags. Also, and this can’t be said enough, the dancing choreography from Robbins is phenomenal. There’s no denying that these actors were in the studio for hours a day nailing the moves before spinning around bars and jumping off walls. It’s magnificent how effortless this all feels.
So, what can Spielberg’s version do to even compete? I’m not willing to say it will be better, at least in terms of cultural significance. However, I do think that his heart is enough in the right place that I’m willing to be humored. Given that we’re getting another Puerto Rican-based musical next year with In the Heights (2021), it feels like audiences are ready for something more flavorful, more confident, and symbolic not of the Hollywood idea of immigrants, but something that’s full-blooded. Sure nothing will ever top Moreno singing “America,” but a lot of the other tapestries could use some updating.
Sure, one could argue that having Tony Kushner write the updated screenplay may not be desired, but I trust his track record. The playwright behind the incredible Angels in America previously collaborated with Spielberg on Lincoln (2012), which turned out to be a pretty sturdy look into the president’s life. There’s room to add nuance, more depth to the supporting characters that would make them feel contemporary, maybe allowed to break out into more Spanglish sequences and stop it from feeling like a retro cornball.
On the one hand, the new cast is full of untested talent. Where I can point to Hollywood careers for most of West Side Story’s prime cast, I don’t know that any of these kids outside of Ansel Elgort really would be close to a household name at this point. Still, the idea of needing to trust Rachel Zegler as Maria comes with some reassurance. You can get a sense of what she may be like based on some YouTube searching, where she’s performed covers of “I Feel Pretty” and “Tonight.” The cast feels more authentic, and I hope with a talented playwright like Kushner that he’ll bring out something organic in the cast.
The loose end is still Spielberg. While he’s been a consistent and reliable director, the movie musical is still a field that he’s never really tested. However, I’m not nearly as skeptical about why this should be remade. Many may find it difficult to believe, but the original movie is going to be 60 years old by the time of the new one’s release. It’s a miracle that it’s held up as well as it has. Still, it’s reflective of an old way of making movies that have caused other classics to be given some scrutiny.
I’m sure Spielberg will hire the best choreographers and David Newman will do an excellent update of the score. As someone who still loves going to see musicals on the big screen, I have to stay optimistic, especially when it’s stories that I have grown up with. There are even sequences from the stage version (going back to the very beginning) that Spielberg can pull from that weren’t in the Wise version. With that said, it’s all dependent on if he uses instinct, or trusts what has been popular over the past 20-30 years. Dream sequence ballets haven’t been as big, and it’s unfortunate in general that choreography often gets overlooked. I think it’s necessary.
Also, and I hope this is just bad optics, I hope he improves upon the drab cinematography of early pictures, which were terribly earthy. It’s one of my least favorite trends in modern movies. I miss having vibrant colors, so full of life and emotion. That’s what has made this story so substantial for so long. It’s not just the story, but how it looked and moved. I don’t want it too gritty and grounded. I want it to be so alive that it gives me a magnificent piece of escapism. I’m sure that I’ll like it either way, but there’s room for this movie to not necessarily be better than the original, but at least comparable, handing it off to a new generation to discover and fall in love with this show. That alone may make this a worthwhile endeavor.
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