“West Side Story” is one of the most acclaimed plays and films ever made. A musical, it’s not all about sweetness and light – in fact, it’s the most gritty musical I’ve ever seen, a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Our plot revolves around two street gangs in New York City – the anglo Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Tony (Richard Beymer) is the former leader of the Jets, but he has turned from his gang life and is trying to go clean. Riff (Russ Tamblyn) has taken over the leadership role, but he admits that he’s not as good as Tony was and still comes to Tony for advice.
Bernardo (George Chakiris) is the leader of the Sharks. As immigrants, they’ve already got a lot against them in an era when anyone from a foreign country had a hard time getting a warm welcome. His sister, Maria (Natalie Wood) is against the fighting, and his girlfriend Anita (Rita Moreno) likes being connected to a man with so much power.
As we come into the movie, we are shown the situation from both sides, and come to appreciate where everyone is coming from. The Jets feel that their turf has been invaded and they want the Sharks gone. The Sharks are desperate to make a place for themselves in their new country and feel that they have to do whatever it takes to get established.
A dance is held in the community, and Tony and Maria see each other across the room. They dance, and are immediately smitten. They start seeing each other in secret, knowing that if their romance is discovered, it would spell a whole lot of trouble. This segment of the movie brings us such famous and amazing music as “Maria,” “Somewhere,” and “I Feel Pretty.” As Maria tries to convince Bernardo that fighting doesn’t have to be the answer, we hear the rousing “America,” as the Puerto Ricans debate the pluses and minuses of being in a new country. Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim are at their most brilliant in this soundtrack.
Things come to a fever pitch as the Jets and Sharks decide to have one last rumble, this one to decide who ultimately controls the streets. Riff wants Tony’s help, but Tony wants the fighting to stop. Bernardo is determined to win at all costs, and Maria can’t talk him out of it. A knife fight is scheduled, and true to the Shakespeare plot, Riff, Tony, and Bernardo are all killed, after which Maria makes a rousing speech, wondering what it was all for.
This is not a movie for young children. There’s plenty of violence and some sexual themes that run throughout. However, I think it would be a valuable resource for your teenagers to help them understand the dangers of gangs, how racism is never the answer, and that we should work out our differences with words and compromises instead of with violence. I do encourage you to watch it first as parents and form your own decisions on that.
This film was not rated.
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