2022 Oscar Nominees (pt. II)

West Side Story

tick, tick…BOOM!

Last week I started catching up with some of the Oscar-nominated films that I’ve missed this season, and while neither of them particularly blew me away, I appreciated how both films represented the constraints of the construct of gender in such interesting and intriguing ways. I love it when movies give me epiphanies: like the epiphany that Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial style is bold and ambitious, or the epiphany that I’ve watched enough Jane Campion films probably. Going into these next two heavily-nominated musical films I was pretty skeptical but I found myself very pleasantly surprised. Controversial as it is to say, I actually love a musical. I was a choir kid who thankfully never stepped more than an ankle deep into the netherworld of the theatre kids, but I was a full-on, choral-competing, Glee-watching, singing and showtune-obsessed nerd. A lot of people hate musicals, and the theatre in general, but whenever I open Tik Tok and see something incredibly cringey but incredibly earnest that someone released out into the public, I’m reminded that all the world’s a stage and music and poetry are all around us. I’ll admit, when the trailers and posters for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story first started to appear, I was confused. Was this a reboot? Just a remake? And in a culture that loves to turn everything non-musical into a musical, did we really need another adaptation of a story that’s been told a million times before? As it would turn out, the guy who brought us Jaws, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and a myriad of science fiction films, has always been obsessed with West Side Story. He loved West Side Story so much that as a kid he used to get in trouble for constantly singing the songs at the dinner table. This fact, alone, piqued my interest, because how random is it that Steven Spielberg would choose to direct a musical—especially one that theatre kids are so protective of and audiences everywhere have been so critical of ever since its release. West Side Story is just a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but by framing this ill-fated love story with two rival gangs in New York City in the 50s, by expressing the prominent racial and class divide, this particular retelling has clearly stood the test of time and remains relevant, unfortunately, still today. Tony and his gang, the Jets, are at odds with the neighboring Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, until Tony meets Maria, and, well, if you’ve seen basically any adaption of Romeo and Juliet you know what happens next. I have always appreciated the potential for bold political and social messaging in this musical, but I’ll be honest, I don’t give a shit about West Side Story. I’ve seen the original, and in high school I even starred in a stage production of it (I was girl Jet #34. Or maybe I was a Shark? They all blend together when the production is made up of entirely white kids 🥴) but it’s just not my favorite musical. That is why I am thoroughly shocked by how much I enjoyed this movie. It was just as gay and over-the-top as the original film, but every single detail was elevated and improved. Apart from the unfortunate casting of alleged abuser Ansel Elgort as Tony, this film was just really well made and the entire cast was phenomenal. Rachel Zegler, in her first ever film role, was entirely enchanting as Maria (and maybe has the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard?), and Ariana DeBose was an instant star as Anita—somehow managing to fill the shoes of Rita Moreno who originally played the role, but here stars in a new role that she played oh so well. There was so much more context added to the storylines that really needed it, more attention and care was given to each individual relationship, and the things that were merely implied in the 1961 version were said out loud here. The character of Anybodys, who is vaguely referred to as a “tomboy” in the original, is a more fully-realized character here, and is played by an actual trans person. This is a love story, but it’s also a very dark story about about prejudice and the impending doom of gentrification. I didn’t even appreciate its representation of deep-seated topics—like gentrification and immigration and sexism and racism and rape and respectability politics and toxic masculinity—until I saw them so boldly confronted in this new version. On a technical, cinematic level this film was stunning and impeccable. The shadows, the contrasts, the vivid colors and emotions, it almost had a cartoon-like quality to it because it was all so symmetrical and organized and pleasing to the eye. On a human, real level, I just felt it, ya know? Like in my soul I felt this movie. And it wasn’t all about the love story between Tony and Maria, there’s so much more to be explored here, so much more depth to reached and so much more to relate to than you would ever think. And Rita Moreno singing “Somewhere” was just so incredible, and far more impactful than the typical version with Tony and Maria. The Ansel Elgort of it all is quite disappointing because West Side Story really was one of my favorites of this Oscar season, which is just as shocking to you as it is to me. What’s not shocking, though, was the fact that Andrew Garfield fucking slayed this role in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film tick, tick…BOOM!, a role that might just give him the Oscar he’s deserved ever since he uttered the words “SORRY my Prada’s in the cleaners, along with my hoodie and my ‘fuck-you’ flip flops, you pretentious douchebag” in The Social Network. If I was pleasantly surprised by my love of West Side Story, I was positively bewildered by my enjoyment of tick, tick…BOOM! For me to view a project by Lin-Manuel Miranda, let alone really like it, is insane to me. I have nothing against this man, or the $70 8x10 photos of himself that he sells on his website, I just never drank the Hamilton kool-aid, but people seem to really love Lin-Manuel’s work, and I guess after tonight, I can kinda see why. tick, tick…BOOM! is the story of Jonathan Larson, the man who wrote the musical Rent, a musical, that, just like West Side Story, is simultaneously exaggerated yet tangible. Set in the early 90s, at the peak of the AIDS epidemic, the possibility for sadness was hovering all around this movie. This aspect of the film, tragic as it is, isn’t felt as deeply as the tragedy of the man whom this story is about. Jonathan Larson wrote three musical compositions (Superbia, tick, tick…BOOM! and Rent) before dying at 35 (10 days before his 36th birthday), on the very day of Rent’s first Off-Broadway preview performance. This film focuses on Larson’s creative process and his personal turmoil while writing his first show, giving particular attention to his friendships and relationships and how his passion controlled everything in his life. Vanessa Hudgens has had some iconic roles, none more iconic than when she said “if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are gonna die, which is terrible but, like, inevitable?" during the second week of the pandemic, but this was one of her best roles. Not just because her lines were kept to a minimum, but because singing voice sounded just as nasally and beautiful as I expected. Everyone sounded amazing, but Andrew Garfield’s voice was lovely and angelic and seemed like it flowed out of him so easily. Andrew Garfield is so talented, I’m not surprised he can sing so well, unlike Lin-Manuel who threw a shoe at Andrew when he heard him sing for the first time. It was just a well-made movie that felt like a real love letter to crazy music nerds and writers and creatives and especially to Jonathan Larson himself, who’s legacy deserves to be shared and celebrated. It all gave me such a greater appreciation for the musical Rent, which is, again, not one of my favorite musicals, and it gave me a greater appreciation for Lin-Manuel as a director but mostly, it solidified the fact that Andrew Garfield is a sensational actor. And if he doesn’t win Best Actor, I swear to god and Lin Manuel Miranda that I will riot in the streets.