directed by Steven Spielberg
How come there’s a remake that critics adore and even say it’s better than the original film, yet financially it’s a loss? I have two answers – a nice one and an honest one. The nice one says it’s because of the pandemic – people simply avoid cinemas. The honest one says that it’s because we’re sick of remakes. Which is true for me, at least. Have we reached the point in our lives where we need to choose between seeing a cringy copy-paste romantic comedy or 584th remake of a classic production? So if you ask me, I bet that’s the reason why today’s film was a financial disappointment. But who cares about money? Definitely not me, I’m not a studio. I’m a simple person who has seen the remake and is in absolute love with it. But I admit that if Spielberg hadn’t directed it, I wouldn’t have watched it in the cinema (my honest theory seems to be applying here). This man is a legend. This man turns everything into a cinematographic gold. From the very first moment of the film I had chills. Not only the actors are very well chosen, not only the choreography is on point, not only every little detail is taken care of but also… THAT CAMERA WORK. You may think I’m insane, but I honestly lose my mind over the camera work in films. People say “what a funny dialogue” and I reply with “have you seen how they smoothly moved from the corner of the room and zoomed into the characters?” I swear. But honestly speaking, Spielberg and Kamiński (the cinematographer) turned a very interesting but outdated production into a marvellous performance, which, in my opinion, should catch the young’s attention. I was searching for the information why Spielberg decided to direct this film as it’s not his kind of genre (at least hasn’t been so far). Seems that he found it important to remind us about the musical as the problems and messages of this story are still relevant in our times. In his opinion, perhaps even more than in 1961. Personally, I’m not so comfortable reading it, but I have to agree. I hope that when this remake appears on some streaming platform, more people will see it and take it as a lesson. Especially since the remake is banned in several countries i.a. because there’s a character played by a non-binary actor (Iris Menas – btw a very good role). So if you’re wondering if we’re still xenophobic, racist and I-don’t-know-what-else-phobic, then unfortunately we still are… I hope you’ll give this film a chance as, in my opinion, it’s better than the previous adaptation. Obviously, Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort as the main characters are wonderful, but may I just appreciate Ariana DeBose for the role of Anita? I mean, gurl! You did it and you did it well. And those who are also crazy about cinematography – it’s a must-see for you, guys. This adaptation is pure gold.
My rating: 8/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 