West Side Story again

In my continuing obsession with West Side Story, I watched it again this weekend, and surprised myself by bursting into tears in the last scene. Natalie Wood brings it in that scene. (Richard Beymer kicks ass as well.) She is just barely holding herself together when she's pointing the gun at the rest of them--you can hear the tears in her voice, and then when she crumples....aw, man. She just breaks your heart--very emotionally truthful. Great, great job. I think if she hadn't already appeared in Splendor on the Grass that year (for which she got a Best Actress nomination), she might've gotten one for WSS. (You can't be double-nominated within a category.) Another amazingly affecting moment is when the Jets are struggling with Tony's body...and two Sharks step forward to help. WOW. And the way the scene--and the movie--just....ends.

I like picking out the scene when actors win their Oscar. (For example, in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel won with the scene where she's recounting Bonnie's death: "Gimme my baby what you kilt!") For Anita, it's after the Taunting, the staging of which is almost a little too stylized to inspire real terror (almost, not quite--it's still effective). But when she's leaving--THAT'S when the truth hits the fan. The way she says "I have a message for your friend--tell him..." She is THERE, that scene could stand up in any (non-musical) drama.

I used to have (it's at my Mom's now) a novelization of West Side Story which I really enjoyed. It has last names for the characters (Riff Lorton, Maria Nunez), weirdish backstory and a slightly different narrative (Action takes over after Riff dies, not Ice/Diesel).

Although I think Richard Beymer does a decent job as Tony, very invested and sincere, I do wish he seemed a little more...dangerous. Tony is supposed to be a former gang member--it's only been a month since he's left the Jets. I'd also like to see more indications of a true friendship--a long-term friendship--between Riff and Tony. Tony seems so distant from him in their one big scene with just the two of them, and after all, it's Riff's death (like Mercutio's) that maddens Tony into killing Bernardo. This is where the source material is stronger--Romeo and Mercutio have three strong scenes together, scenes where you see how close they are, not just in what they say but how they say it, and it's believable that Romeo would flip out and avenge his friend's death. Tony says to Maria "...Riff was like a brother to me"--we are told this but not really shown it.

I had to go back and watch the Dance at the Gym a few more time. I still LOVE it. Glad Hand is still such a dork ("well, it won't hurt you to try...") and I love it when the promenade stops and you see Ice's girl opposite Bernardo. She gives him the most hilarious look, like "ex-CUSE me?!" I love how everyone freezes, and then the guys all leap forward elegantly and reclaim their women. And then the BEST sequence, the Mambo! God, it is so awesome! There's nothing like seeing a pack of amazing dancers showing each other up, one upping each other with their moves, all cocky. They all look like they're having such a good time in that scene, the characters as well as the actors, especially Riff, he has this big grin on his face. Right now I'm splitting my crush between Bernardo and Riff (I mean the characters, not the actors, although they are fine as well!).

I've decided if I ever do WSS, I want to play either Riff or Anybodys. Yeah, yeah, Maria would be great but Anybodys is such a cool little role, and Riff of course is me, Mercutio :)

Check out the original Broadway cast performing "Cool" on the Ed Sullivan show:

Aren't they amazing?