West Side Story (English) Movie

WEST SIDE STORY is a love story of two youngsters from different ethnic backgrounds. WEST SIDE STORY is based on the stage musical of the same name written by Arthur Laurents. Tony Kushner's screenplay is neat and entertaining. The dialogues are sharp but the romantic ones are sure to tug... at heartstrings. Steven Spielberg's direction is, as expected, supreme and old-fashioned. He handles the film in such a way that one feels like watching an old classic. Ansel Elgort is excellent as the loverboy. Rachel Zegler looks stunning and it is difficult to say that it is her debut performance. Ariana DeBose is terrific and is a sure shot Oscar worthy performance. David Alvarez and Mike Faist are fine in the roles of aggressive gang founders. Josh Andrés Rivera has a crucial part and does well. Rita Moreno (Valentina) is lovely. Brian d'Arcy James (Officer Krupke), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) and Iris Menas (Anybodys) are decent. Leonard Bernstein's music is one of the USPs of the film. The same songs, which were there in the musical, are played in the film and are arranged perfectly by David Newman. Janusz Kamiński's cinematography is remarkable and has an old-world feel. Adam Stockhausen's production design is detailed and brings the past era alive. Paul Tazewell's costumes are very appealing and authentic. Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar's editing is unhurried. On the whole, WEST SIDE STORY is a fine piece of cinema and embellished with noteworthy performances and music score.