When Steven Spielberg announced he was remaking West Side Story, the reaction was a mix of anticipation and skepticism. The 1961 original is one of the most celebrated musicals in film history, and remaking it seemed either impossibly ambitious or entirely unnecessary. What Spielberg delivered in 2021 was a film that justified its existence through sheer filmmaking virtuosity. Adapted from the stage musical by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, with a new screenplay by Tony Kushner, the film follows the doomed romance between Tony and Maria against the backdrop of gang rivalry in 1950s New York. It earned seven Academy Award nominations, with Ariana DeBose winning Best Supporting Actress.

The film was met with overwhelming critical praise and disappointing box office returns, a combination that has defined its early legacy. Released during the pandemic’s ongoing impact on theatrical attendance, West Side Story found a smaller audience than its quality deserved. Its reputation has grown in the years since, with more viewers discovering it at home and recognizing it as one of Spielberg’s most technically accomplished films.

The Choreography and Cinematography That Redefine the Movie Musical

The dance sequences in Spielberg’s West Side Story represent the most ambitious and accomplished musical filmmaking in decades. Working with choreographer Justin Peck, Spielberg stages the numbers with a kinetic energy and visual clarity that make every movement legible while maintaining the chaos and emotion of the scenes. The “America” number, performed largely in the streets with Ariana DeBose leading, is a showcase of what happens when world-class choreography meets a director who knows exactly where to put the camera. Bodies fill the frame, the editing follows the rhythm of the music, and the sequence builds to a crescendo that’s purely, thrillingly cinematic.

Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography brings a visual richness to 1950s New York that serves the story on every level. The West Side neighborhood, in the process of being demolished to make way for Lincoln Center, becomes a character in itself. Rubble-strewn lots sit next to tenement buildings, and the physical destruction of the neighborhood mirrors the destruction of the communities that lived there. Spielberg uses this setting not just as backdrop but as commentary, making the urban renewal that’s displacing these families visible in nearly every exterior shot.

Ariana DeBose’s Anita is the performance that defines the film. She brings a ferocity, joy, and heartbreak to the role that makes her the most compelling person on screen in every scene she enters. The range she displays, from the exuberance of “America” to the devastating confrontation in Doc’s store, is remarkable. DeBose earned her Oscar, and her work here stands alongside Rita Moreno’s original performance as a different but equally powerful interpretation.

Tony Kushner’s screenplay addresses criticisms of the original by deepening the Puerto Rican characters and their community, incorporating Spanish dialogue without subtitles, and giving the story a more explicit connection to the forces of displacement and racism that drive the conflict. Rita Moreno’s presence in a newly created role as Valentina, Doc’s widow, adds a layer of emotional continuity that honors the original while grounding this version in its own identity. Moreno’s rendition of “Somewhere” is one of the film’s most quietly powerful moments.

The Romance That Can’t Quite Carry the Weight

The central love story between Tony and Maria remains the film’s most persistent structural challenge, inherited from the source material rather than introduced by this adaptation. Rachel Zegler’s Maria is luminous and vocally extraordinary, bringing a purity to the role that serves the musical numbers beautifully. Ansel Elgort’s Tony is more polarizing, with some viewers finding his performance emotionally present and others finding him too passive for the dramatic weight the story places on him. The chemistry between them is intermittent, strong in the balcony scene and the musical numbers, less convincing in the dramatic scenes that require the audience to believe these two would risk everything for each other.

The runtime at 156 minutes is substantial for a musical. Kushner’s expanded screenplay adds context and depth, but it also extends sequences that the 1961 version handled more efficiently. Some viewers feel the added material enriches the story’s social dimensions. Others feel that certain scenes, particularly in the second act, could have been tightened without losing anything essential. The pacing never drags during the musical numbers, but the dramatic scenes between them occasionally feel like they’re working harder than they need to.

The film’s commercial failure, earning roughly $76 million worldwide against a production budget of $100 million, reflects challenges that had little to do with quality. The pandemic, the decline of the theatrical musical, and audience unfamiliarity with the source material among younger demographics all contributed. But the box office result has shaped perceptions of the film in ways that are unfair to what Spielberg accomplished. This is not a film that failed artistically.

The decision to leave Spanish-language dialogue unsubtitled is intentional and meaningful, placing non-Spanish-speaking audiences in the same position of partial understanding that the Puerto Rican characters experience in an English-dominant world. Some viewers found this immersive and respectful. Others found it frustrating, particularly during scenes where important emotional content is delivered in Spanish. The choice reflects the film’s commitment to authenticity, but it divides audiences.

A Musical About Who Gets to Belong

Underneath the romance and the rivalry, Spielberg’s West Side Story is a film about displacement. The Puerto Rican families are being pushed out of their neighborhood by construction. The Jets, themselves children of immigrants from a previous generation, cling to territory that’s already being taken from them. Everyone in the film is fighting over a place to stand in a city that’s already decided they don’t belong. Kushner makes this subtext into text, and Spielberg stages the musical numbers against the literal demolition of the world these characters inhabit. The tragedy isn’t just that Tony and Maria can’t be together. It’s that the world they’re trying to build a life in is being torn down around them.

Should You Watch West Side Story?

If you have any appreciation for the musical as a film form, Spielberg’s West Side Story is required viewing. The craft on display is extraordinary, and the musical sequences alone justify the runtime. Fans of the original will find a version that respects the source material while adding genuine depth. Anyone curious about what happens when one of cinema’s greatest directors applies his full arsenal to a classic story should see this.

Skip it if musicals are a genre you simply cannot connect with, or if the fundamental implausibility of the Tony-Maria romance is going to prevent you from engaging with the rest of the film. The love story is the load-bearing wall, and if it doesn’t work for you, the spectacular architecture around it won’t fully compensate.

The Verdict on West Side Story

West Side Story is Spielberg proving that the musical, as a cinematic form, still has the power to overwhelm. The dance sequences are some of the finest ever filmed, Ariana DeBose owns the screen as Anita, and the technical filmmaking is breathtaking from first frame to last. The central romance remains the weakest structural element, inherited from the source material rather than introduced by this version. But as a piece of pure cinema, choreographed and shot with a passion that borders on obsessive, it’s a stunning achievement.