mel_bear

Over the years I have rated hundreds of movies, but I have only given twenty five a 10 out of 10. One of these was the original WSS movie version of 1961. So how does the old one stand up to the latest Spielberg outing? Ok, the original had it's faults but it took itself seriously enough to be a fairly successful transfer from stage to screen. This new version, while still setting it in the 1950s, tried to bring it into the 21st century with flashy camera work, ginormous sound stages and hundreds of extras. Gone is the feel of a theatrical stage production. In fact, the editing of some of the dance sequences (e.g. Dance at the Gym) was so spit-second fast that it was impossible to concentrate on any one performer.

Now to make Romeo & Juliet/West Side Story work we rely heavily on the chemistry of the leads. I'm afraid Ansel and Rachel have no chemistry. They can sing well but as lovers...well? The original Dance at the Gym meeting was laughable. At least the '61 version treated it as a sort of dance fantasy. Which worked. If you can't feel some sympathy for the leads then who cares what happens to them later.

Rather than focusing on the negative side of the movie then let's mention the things that worked. There were several stand-out performers. Ariana DeBore (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), and Mike Faist (Riff) stole the show with some great acting and amazing dancing. I did miss the Jerome Robbins' choreography but I am sure the Justin Peck version would have impressed me as much if the camera would stop darting all over the place. Two other actors deserve mention. Josh Andres Rivera (Chino) did so well in his slightly beefed up role, and, of course, Rita Moreno would have me even if she was promoting baby nappies!

The costume designs were great, especially the men. The women's were a bit loud and a little too perfect for Puerto Rican's who hang their washing on the fire escape to dry.

So this version does not replace the original '61. It may appeal to a younger generation who have never seen the other....although I wonder if they would really sit through a number like 'I feel pretty' without bursting out laughing.

A side note: I turned up at the local cineplex and the ticket person checked my ticket and pointed out the correct cinema showing 1917. I didn't think I had arrived late but it seemed to have already started. The scene was the trip by the vehicles through the mud and fallen trees. I picked up the story no problem. My impressions at this point of the movie was the extremely inappropriate music that sounded more in keeping with a Star Wars film than something set in World War I. I had similar issues with the movie 'Dunkirk'. Anyhow after 40 minutes the movie finished and I knew something was wrong. I checked back with (another) ticket collector and found that my session wouldn't be starting for 20 minutes. So I managed to see 1917 twice. At least some of it twice. Seeing the beginning made me rethink a few of the issues I had initially felt. Yes the music was still inappropriate and as the volume and tension slowly increased we all knew that something was going to happen. Worse was that the music was continuous through, I guess, 90% of the movie. Why don't directors just leave everything to the sound effects department? I also found that the slight overuse of profanity and gestures a bit out of period. Am open to correction here. To the movie. When I first viewed it I was not conscious of the 'one shot' camera work until the final conflict. Seeing it from the beginning impressed me so much. The camera work and art direction deserve awards and what is sometimes overlooked is the extras casting. Absolutely brilliant. The two leads had to hold the whole film together and they did that and more. Ok, I have issues, but over all, if someone asked me what I thought, I would have to tell them that this was probably one of the most visually exciting movies of the past ten years.

Knowing a little of the story before hand I was not holding great hopes for this evening's cinema excursion. However, I was most pleasantly surprised from the opening music which lead us the steamy interior of the sauna where slowly, in the background, naked bodies could be seen imerging from the low lit darkness. Indeed one of the beauties of the film is the wonderful camera work. The shot in the elevator was worth the price of the ticket alone. Daniela Varga is a great actress and has to hold the audience's attention as she appears in almost every scene. She certainly held me in the palm of her hand and I had difficulty not taking my eyes off her. Daniela further exploited her talents by doing her own singing. The acting was superb from all the supporting cast but it was Daniela's film, with the help of Sebastian Lelio, of course.