WEST SIDE STORY
(1961, Wise & Robbins)
"Why do you kids live like there's a war on? Why do you kill?"
The film follows these two gangs as they struggle for control of their NYC neighborhood. The Jets are a white gang while the Sharks are a Puerto Rican gang. Meanwhile, Tony (Richard Beymer), a former Jet, falls in love with Maria (Natalie Wood), the sister of the leader of the Sharks, which further sparks the conflict between both groups.
I'm Puerto Rican, and my first experience with
West Side Story didn't go that well. The first time I saw it was probably 20-ish years ago and I really didn't like it. Not necessarily for the reasons I mention above, but mostly because I found the two central characters AND performances (Beymer and Wood) to be utterly boring and completely uninteresting. However, as I grew up, I became more aware of the racial issues in its script and execution.
In addition, although the story does intend to put the Jets and Sharks on more or less the same level, the script and direction can't help but lean towards the Jets. The film opens with the Jets, and for most of the film's duration, the focus is solely on them, relegating the Puerto Rican Sharks to secondary characters or even the "bad guys". For a film that's heralded as the representation of Puerto Rican culture, that says a lot.
But my first point of contention remained the same; Beymer and Wood just can't hold this. Not only are their performances bland, but they're characters are completely boring. The fact that they are completely upstaged by Chakiris and Moreno, whose characters are infinitely more interesting, just adds to the list of film's flaws.
Grade:
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