West Side Story Review

Originally published December 18, 2021

"Stephen Spielberg makes an epic retelling of West Side Story that, while technically impressive, isn’t quite the representation it’s being marketed as. This movie is visually stunning, with award-worthy acting performances from Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, and David Alvarez. Their characters, Maria, Anita, and David, carry the movie, but their struggles as Puerto Ricans take a backseat to the white Jets, and they’re reduced to constantly going through hardship. My criticisms are not directed at the talent but primarily the choices by the filmmakers. 

West Side Story was originally a 1957 Broadway production by Jerome Robbins and the late lyricist Stephen Sondheim. In 1961 there was a film adaptation that had one Latinx person in the entire cast: Rita Moreno. The rest of the cast was made up of white actors in brown face. Rita Moreno played the role of Anita (played in the latest film by Ariana DeBose) and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, which was the first time a Latinx actress won award."

My review can be found over at POC Culture