Best Picture Nominees: West Side Story


 

On February 8 the Academy Award nominations were announced and 10 films were nominated for Best Picture. On March 27, the winners will be announced. Between now and then, I'll be looking at each of the nominees and considering their chances.

West Side Story
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, and Rita Moreno
Director: Steven Spielberg
Total Nominations: 7
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director (Spielberg), Best Supporting Actress (DeBose), Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design
About: This isn't the first time West Side Story, a modern musical version of Romeo & Juliet, has been a Best Picture nominee. How do you re-make a classic? That was the big question facing Spielberg and writer Tony Kushner, and somehow they pulled it off. DeBose is great in an under-rated cast. She's nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the same role Moreno won with, and I think there's a chance she becomes the second actress to win for the role. I hope she does. Among the other awards, West Side Story is a contender in most. I'd put it in the top half of Best Picture options, though I don't see it happening. I'd also put Spielberg as a strong contender given his history and position in the Academy, though I don't think it will win. I think West Side Story will do better in the technical categories. In fact, as a musical nominated for Best Picture, I think it will end up winning the sound award. Production and costume design also feel like strong possibilities. At the end of the day, I think the film wins at least on Oscar and, personally, I'll be rooting for DeBose.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, strong language, thematic content, suggestive material and brief smoking.
Verdict: Four stars out of five
Where to Find It: West Side Story is playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max and Disney+

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