West Side Story (2021)

Originally published on social media on March 25th, 2022

Let this post signify my official vote for the film I believe should get Best Picture at this year’s Oscar’s. What’s your vote?

This film was everything I hoped it would be and more! The cinematography was beautiful, the costumes gorgeous, the acting was incredible, the music was divine, and the changes made to the script only enhanced the original story.

I enjoyed the original West Side Story film, as many others did too! It even won an Oscar for best picture that year! However, I was always a little disappointed in the lack of authentic Latinx representation. This movie makes amends to that wrong. One of my favorite facts is how the Latinx actors communicate in Spanish without subtitles. While it is hard to know exactly what they are saying if you don’t speak Spanish, this decision was made intentionally as to not white wash the film and respect the Latinx community and emphasize the value of their contributions.

My other favorite thing about this version is the chemistry and talent of both Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler as Tony and Maria. As the audience, you can feel their love so much more than in the original. Their talent is well displayed in their singing and acting. That’s one great thing about this version, both actors sung the parts often live. In the original, both Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood are dubbed by other people, and while the other voices are nice, there is something inherently better about a performance without dubbing.