ScreenFish

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sharks

West Side Story: Spielberg’s Update Dances into our Hearts

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When I heard that a new West Side Story was due to premiere, I was sceptical. Did I really want to see a remake of one of my favourite movies? When I heard that Steven Spielberg was directing, and that he had wanted to make this movie for over 30 years, I was intrigued. When 91 year old Stephen Sondheim died in late November, seeing this new iteration became a necessity. When I heard that a new role had been written into the movie for 89-year-old Rita Moreno, seeing the movie became a happy obligation.

I was not disappointed. 

Sixty years after the original movie walked away with 10 Oscars, Spielberg’s new version soars to even greater heights – singing and dancing its way into our hearts. All of the songs are there; sung by new magnificent voices. The star-crossed lovers still pine for each other. The Jets and the Sharks still battle for their piece of the American dream. Everything beloved from 1961 is intact. 

What West Side Story 2021 adds is context, depth and a magnificent New York city backdrop. The movie starts in black and slowly expands to light, showing derelict, crumbling buildings. “Dump”. “Slum Clearance”. It’s the late 50’s and what has been the fought over home turf to both the Irish and Polish Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks (now played by Latinx actors) will become the beautiful Lincoln Centre and the home for the gentrified rich. It’s an old story that continues to the present. The gang boys and girls aren’t just fighting each other; they’re fighting for a future that has no place for them. 

If we ever wondered why Tony no longer fights with the Jets, now we know. He has spent time in prison for almost killing a boy and he does not want to become that hate-filled person again.  The neighbourhood store owner, Doc is now replaced by his widow, Valentina. She is played by the magnificent Rita Moreno. She is the one steady adult in the film – linking both gangs and acting as their conscience. And she can still sing. I thought I would get through this movie without a tear but her rendition of a WSS favourite song (always sung by another character) defeated me. Is it possible for an actor to get the same Oscar for another role in the same movie – 60 years later?

West Side Story is known for its amazing songs and fabulous dancing. This movie does not disappoint. Here, however, New York City and its streets and stores are highlighted, along with the colourful explosion of the dancers’ movements and costumes. 

All the actors should also be congratulated. Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (newcomer Rachel Zegler) are perfect for the Romeo and Juliet leads. They’re both beautiful, have wonderful singing voices, and are able to bring both gravitas and lightness to the roles. Canadian David Alvarez is tough and focused as Bernardo (Shark leader) and is also a wondrous singer and dancer. My favourite character, surprisingly, was Riff (Mike Faist), the leader of the Jets. Faist brings a quirky vulnerability to the role – the kid with no family, whose future can only be assured if he enacts the toughness that will eventually kill him.

So head to the theatre this week. West Side Story 2021 will not disappoint you. If you don’t know the story, it will be a joyous, heart-rending experience. And if you do know the story, it will be a joyous, heart-rending experience. 

West Side Story opens in theatres on Friday, December 10th, 2021.  

47 Meters Down: Uncaged – Sisterhood of the Travelling Sharks

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47 Meters Down: Uncaged tells the story of four teen divers who discover the sunken ruins of a Mayan city in the heart of Mexico. However, as the young women investigate the mysterious caverns, they soon find themselves trapped in the abyss by deadly great white sharks. With their air supply steadily dwindling, the girls must make their escape through the underwater labyrinth of claustrophobic caves in order to survive.

Directed by Johannes Roberts (The Strangers: Prey at Night, 47 Meters Down) and co-written between Roberts and Ernest Riera, Uncaged is a follow-up to the successful first film in the series which starred Mandy Moore. Whereas the first film told the story of two young women trapped in a steel cage under the water, the sequel instead leads us into a series of mysterious underground caverns in the heart of Mexico. (Hence, the ‘uncaged’ moniker included in the title.) What’s more, given the fact that Uncaged boasts an entirely new cast, the two films are tied together only through their mutual interest in shark-fuelled thrills. 

As sisters Mia and Sasha, stars Sistine Rose Stallone and Corinne Foxx (daughters of Sly and Jamie respectively) have good chemistry as estranged sisters who must get past their differences in these dangerous waters. Within the story itself, Uncaged also portrays the strength and courage that women possess, especially when they care enough to stand together. Although estranged at the film’s outset, Mia, Sasha and their friends soon learn each other’s value as they face certain death together. 

Still, in all seriousness, the real reason films like this draw a crowd is the sharks and Roberts clearly excited at the opportunity to play in the deep once again. With the new setting, Uncaged shows that he understands what’s required to direct underwater thrills. Liberated from the shackles of a film in one small location, Roberts maintains the claustrophobic atmosphere of the first film while revelling in the fact that there are more locations for shark-infested mayhem. Having not found a hearty meal in hundreds of years, these sharks have evolved in the dark with heightened senses and are clearly very hungry. Thankfully, the film works well as a ride that offers the necessary jump scares and tense moments that makes films like these so much fun. (Without spoilers, one scene where the leads are sinking deeper into the watery abyss with nothing but a flashing red light works particularly well.) 

Although the fact that this has become a franchise remains somewhat surprising considering the gimmicky plot of the first film, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged floats on its own merit. While it doesn’t quite make you ‘scared to go back in the water’, Uncaged is a fun film that offers all the bite that its audience will be looking for this summer.

47 Meters Down: Uncaged swims into theatres on August 16th, 2019