choreographically speaking...

Last night, I attended the "Big Screen Classics" viewing of West Side Story (1961) at The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. I have not seen the film since I was quite young, and was surprised by some of the wacky theatrical and cinematographic elements brought to this Manhattan streets adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. The plot is basically the same as that of R&J, of course, but WSS seems to introduce new, modern elements of colonization, narcissism and, for me, the importance of choreography. The choreography in the film acts as the linguistic playfulness might in any novel--delighting a viewer/reader despite the possibility of disagreement with the subject matter. As in Nabokov's Lolita, where one might moralize and subsequently disdain the main character, Humbert Humbert, for his lecherous pedophilia, one might do the same with Tony and Maria's cross-cultural love affair (at least, during the time the play was originally conceived). Most troubling might be the inability of Maria to "feel pretty" without reference to someone (Tony) appreciating her beauty. She thus remains subjugated as woman and minority, since her narcissism only springs from that which gave her the means (symbolically, The United States), thus confusing personal identity with one that is shared between two distinct entities. The most impactful cut in the film was the transition from Maria's first scene to the dance at the gymnasium; she spins madly from an incandescent spectrum into a silhouette of red (all while wearing a white dress that is seemingly symbolic of her innocence). It is perhaps the first time the film leaps out of its conventionality, shocking the viewer into noticing the colors first for their beauty and secondly for their significance. The dance, of course, is where Maria's teenage innocence is first challenged by her hormones--white to red, pure poverty to corrupted semi-poverty. The most memorable scenes throughout the remainder of the film are always beautifully choreographed dance numbers, which I believe to be proof that plot takes a back seat to aesthetics and enjoyability. Interracial couples are still somewhat taboo, unfortunately, and without the distraction of song and dance, one might not be so easily tricked into supporting something he or she may not inherently support. Choreography distracts us all the time, especially in film. Take, for example, the perfect tempo of action which parallels the soundtrack in the '80s film, Clue. The film is essentially a commentary on communism and capitalism, greed, and murder--touchy subjects treated so lightly. Thus, trying to find the right way to express something is, above all, the most important facet of creation (for me, at least), especially when attempting to support subversiveness. Again, another reason I adore alliteration.