A modern adaptation of Leonard Bernstein’s musical based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The action is set in 1950s New York, where two street gangs fight: the ‘Sharks’ – Puerto Ricans and the ‘Rockets’ – whites.

The film was shot in 2019, but because of the coronavirus epidemic, the premiere was postponed until as early as 2021. I was skeptical at first: the 1961 film is beautiful, what can I add to it? It won 11 Oscars, while the 2021 film had only one (for Best Supporting Actress). Finally, the new film, with a $100 million budget, grossed only $74.5 million at the box office…

But I was wrong: the film is certainly worth watching. First of all, it is very bright, the riot of colours at times simply takes your breath away. The dancing is superb and the choreography is great. And I really liked the cast. Maria (Rachel Segler) is so young and touching, she was 18 years old at the time of filming. Tony (Ansel Elgort) is very atypical of ‘Romeo’: he’s very tall and looks like a giant compared to the other characters. But I can’t say that’s a bad thing, just unusual! But the hero – very kind and charming, it is immediately clear why everyone loves him so much. However, my favourite is Mike Feist as Riff, the leader of the Rockettes, who is a bundle of energy! And of course, Ariana Debos as Oscar-winning Anita is insanely good. Interestingly, the film stars Rita Moreno as Valentina, who won an Oscar for the role of Anita in the 1961 film. At the time of filming the actress was 87 (!!) years old, but she does not look her age…

There are, of course, and minuses: some scenes frankly dragged on, some in general could be cut without any damage. According to my observations, this flaw is inherent in Spielberg’s films in general: the director seems so fond of all the footage that he is not willing to sacrifice a single episode. I think that ‘West Side Story’, which lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes, would have made a world of difference if he had cut it down to 2 hours. But the audience who sees the film through to the end will be rewarded: the battle between the Rockets and the Sharks, Anita’s visit to the Rockets, the finale – all these scenes are full of real drama, this is truly high art (my heart even sank!). In my opinion, these scenes are better than in the classic film, they are more vital and less theatrical. And in general, I think that Spielberg’s film is closer to modern viewers than the 1961 adaptation. Which, in general, is not surprising.