West Side Story (1961)
Directors: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman
Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, Simon Oakland, William Bramley
Like films, music often startles us by how it knows us. With no prior encounter, the right piece can read us, leave us high on emotions we kept secret. In a matter of frames or lyrics, our sorrows and joys splay out from our closely-guarded chests. It’s one of the most beautiful relationships we own – our connection to an art piece that needles us until we’re weak. But what happens when music and film are combined? Well, much like falling in love, watching a musical causes our sinews and synapses to shiver, the hairs on our arms to rise like flares. The musical has the capacity to make us all fools in love.
West Side Story began in the jazzy realms of Broadway. Opening in 1957, its story of youth, love and society was told for 732 performances. But, when picked up by directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, it danced its way to the silver screen and coloured it rainbow. Its performers, many plucked from the stage-show, danced choreography that brought physical life to iconic theatre writer Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics. The film’s capacity for brassy youthfulness was contrasted by its depth of romance and exploration of societal divides; just when you think it’s a musical that stays in its lane, it challenges you. And, with premier movie magazine of the time, The Hollywood Reporter, writing “Let it be noted that the film musical… has never been done better,” West Side Story cemented itself as a genre-defining ode to emotion itself.
Shakespeare once wrote “If music be the food of love, play on!” As soon as the strings of West Side Story’s prologue reach our ears, we are beggars at its feet; as soon as its beat takes hold, you’ll never want it to let go.
In a pastiche of “Romeo and Juliet”, West Side Story’s structure centres on a love between rivals. From the 1950s streets of New York spring The Jets, a group of white American boys, and The Sharks, Puerto Rican migrants, who fight for control of the Upper West Side. This attracts the eye of Lieutenant Shrank (played by Simon Oakland). Riff (Russ Tamblyn) and Bernardo (George Chakiris), the gang leaders, are war-planning for a rumble. Riff tries to enlist the help of former Jet, Tony (Richard Beymer). Bernardo’s sister Maria (Natalie Wood) and his girlfriend Anita (Rita Moreno) prepare for a social mixer for the gangs. But, as the evening arrives, Tony and Maria form a bond that transcends their differing identities. Will their love survive the animosity of the rival gangs?
“You couldn’t have a story about murder, violence, prejudice, attempted rape, and do it in a traditional musical style,” Arthur Laurents, one of the play’s original writers, said (as quoted by Roger Ebert). West Side Story is anything but conventional; as suggested by this quote, where the film is angel-wing light, it is also dark as shadows. It is this duality that makes West Side Story as divine as heartfelt tears.
On its surface, West Side Story is a full-bodied visual experience where no sensory aspect is neglected. Like a carnival of birds, performers flock together, throwing their bodies into a vigorous celebration. Their loud outfits send colours across our eyes like a disco-ball. The boisterousness of youth is matched with bursting horns, unbridled testosterone incarnate. But, a raindrop of sweetness and sadness melts below.
The stares of lovers glow, bitter prayers are cried, the strings ache and tease. The romance of Tony and Maria, their loss of innocence, their bereavements – when all the noise is quiet, the emotions of the film are unbearably tragic. Much like the iconic silver screen story Casablanca (1942), West Side Story features the most fatal kind of love – love born in the worst possible time.
When many think of West Side Story, they consider the loudness, the violence. But choreography director Jerome Robbins made a point of telling the editing team to prioritize the musical’s emotion, even if the dancing was compromised – that’s where the heart of the musical lies.
The music of West Side Story accompanies the narrative like morning air to a sleeping body. It flows through the characters’ words and physicalities. It’s a self-assured sound that allows the viewer to have complete faith in each number. It goes beyond what dialogue can convey, wrapping each scene in a wonderous magic and energy. Each instrument, whether it’s a string-based song or a jazzy number, light up the film like stars to a night sky.
Songs such as “Gee, Officer Krupke!” encapsulate the film’s deeper messages on the social system and how it has failed the youth. The Jets act out the system itself, turning from the judge to a therapist to a social worker to find the root of their problems. The building key and rhythm of the song encapsulate how misunderstood they truly feel. Similarly, the song “America” presents the fantasies and realities of the American Dream. The song’s chaotic beat makes use of elements of rumba, clashing The Sharks’ origins with their desired life in the United States.
Motifs also flit and flicker throughout, with refrains of love from “Maria” and “Tonight” echoing all around. This sense of romance is like a kiss upon the forehead. Take the song “Somewhere” – delicate strings ensnare the wounded lovers, lifting their deepest despair until it becomes your own.
Rita Moreno was quoted as saying “Then along comes Leonard Bernstein with his 5/4 time, his 6/8 time, his 25/6 time… it doesn’t make dancer sense.” For the choreography in West Side Story, a new realm of dancing was created. Characters move in sync with precision, extending into more erratic moments. Genres flow together, a representation of the two gangs. The Jets move with contemporary prowess, slick with jazzy confidence. The Sharks move slower, with pride and passion. As Roger Ebert wrote, the dance scenes are “so robust, athletic and exhilarating,” quite unlike anything seen in musical history.
Although sharing a feud behind the scenes, acting duo Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood make for a romance of cosmic proportions. Beymer, in particular, is a standout – right from his opening song “Something’s Coming,” he possesses an aura of irrepressible optimism and positivity; when love comes, he worships Maria with starry eyes. By the film’s bitter end, he’s a wounded animal, shirt draping off his shoulders.
Natalie Wood’s Maria is a caged bird who holds a sweet, innocent tune. Virginal and pure, the moon lights up her soft features and stirring emotions. During the balcony scene, her pledges to Tony are as sweet as candle-light. Her white clothing reflects her purity, while the red-ribbon around her waist represents her desire for dangerous passion. By the conclusion, Wood alters her performance to make Maria unrecognisable, concluding with a characterisation that represents how she has been corrupted by the hate that surrounds her.
Where Beymer and Wood are softened by love, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris are set alight by it. Their performances are backed by roaring passion. Moreno commands her scenes with her expressive eyes and cheeky remarks, but her more emotive moments are truly something to behold. Her final scene at the drugstore, where Anita is assaulted by the Jets, represents a turning point for all characters involved. In that moment, Moreno spits venom at the boys who play men, her indignation palpable.
Chakiris makes for a charming partner to her feistiness. Self-assured and suave, his performance feels at ease, cunning. In the gymnasium at the social mixer, all eyes are on their twirling figures as they command the floor; we are presented with a flurry of fizzing colours as skirts spin, but our eyes are drawn to their violet motions. His playful nature adds a lustfulness to their relationship, creating a direct parallel to Maria’s desire for passion.
The script’s simplicity – which comes in the face of its Shakespearean origins – is something many critics drew attention to at the time of the film’s release. The artform of cinema is always more than words from a script – more is found in its movement, editing, camerawork – but there is something to be said for the power of West Side Story’s short statements and how each of them lend themselves to the film’s themes. West Side Story’s throughline of romance is aided with quotes such as “Oh Maria, see only me” and “Te adoro, Anton” – these lines, though sparse in flowery language, do not need more body to convince us of the couple’s passion.
The concept of youth versus authority is given power by the line “You were never my age!”, delivered to the Doc. Similarly, thoughts on race and the American dream are dwelled on by Anita’s line “Once an immigrant, always an immigrant.” Thought-provoking, timeless discussions are raised with ease, allowing for the musical to extend beyond just the romantic. As Bosley Crowthers put it, West Side Story’s message “should be heard by thoughtful people – sympathetic people – all over the world” – a message of love, always over hate.
West Side Story is, however, a musical that has received significant criticism over the years. Although not an issue in the 1960s, West Side Story’s casting has been a consistent issue. With neither The Sharks or Maria being played by a Latinx performer, the lack of representation is a glaring misjudgement. So was the use of skin-darkening makeup on those actors, leaving the film feeling dated and ill-advised.
Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation also failed to rectify these issues, with yet another Maria who was not Puerto-Rican. With Arlene Dávila writing “It’s sad to realize once again the reality that Puerto Ricans and Latinos will be reduced to… ideas taken from the playbook of ‘Puerto Rican’ and ‘Latino’ are to the white imagination,” it’s clear there has been little evolution from its misguided origins. Beyond this, the 1961 adaptation has deeper, more intrinsic issues.
Natalie Wood’s performance causes detractions to the film’s emotive side. Though Wood does provide range, showing a silliness during “I Feel Pretty,” she struggles to achieve a truly convincing level of passion. Roger Ebert made a point of comparing her performance to Moreno’s, in reference Moreno’s performance during the drugstore scene. Quoted as saying “To study the way she plays in that scene is to understand what Wood’s performance is lacking” Perhaps if Wood had captured Moreno’s fire, her passion would have taken the musical’s romance to its fullest potential.
This becomes particularly noticeable as the film develops, which isn’t helped by the loss of steam in the third act. Following the devastation of the rumble scene, without Riff the Jets are seemingly left without memorable charisma. Wise, wanting a defined line of tension, had the order of songs changed to include no light-heartedness after this scene. But this leads to little emotional change across the film’s final moments, failing to hold our interest as it did before. Greater nuance would have added immensely to Maria’s grief and the consequences of Tony’s actions at the rumble.
Further issues are created concerning the film’s structure, especially in parallel with the structure of “Romeo and Juliet”. Where Shakespeare’s play ends in finality, West Side Story’s ending feels unsatisfactory. Coming from origins of such explosiveness, Maria’s survival adds an unresolved air as the credits role: the lovers feel owed the same level of emotion given to their Shakesperean counterparts.
Despite the lack of emotional nuances towards this finale, West Side Story’s emotive charm could never be completely dampened. The film’s magic lies in how it imprints onto each of us differently. For some, it is a rebellion against the puppet strings of age and authority. For others, it is a critique on the promise of America and its citizens, forebodingly mirrored in the present day. For most, it is a love affair that makes us hold our loved one in mind, and tighter in our arms. Whether it’s a dance, a kiss or a riot, West Side Story encourages us to feel intensely, without shame. So let tears fall, hugs last, anger boil – and leave it all on those sun-pounded New York streets.
Score: 23/24
Recommended for you: West Side Story (2021) Review
Written by Bella Madge
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