West Side Story (2021) The Main Characters Ranked By Likability
West Side Story (2021): The Main Characters, Ranked By Likability
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Steven Spielberg directed an adaptation of West Side Story and made some big changes, including adding some more likable characters.
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Steven Spielberg directed a new version of West Side Story in 2021 and he combined a lot of what made the original great with some key changes to the characters in the story. In Spielberg’s version, he took the Sharks and gave them much better backstories, and then used the gentrification of the city to make everyone sympathetic.
But being sympathetic does not make a character instantly likable. The West Side Story characters were all mostly doing what they felt they needed to do in order to survive, and it was how they dealt with adversity that determined if viewers could relate to and like them.
10 Lieutenant Schrank
Lieutenant Schrank doesn’t come across as a very nice person, but that discounts what he is dealing with in West Side Story. He is blunt and to the point when dealing with the Jets and Sharks, but considering the trouble they are causing to the neighborhood, that is understandable.
He comes across as crass at times, especially when demanding that everyone speaks English when they are around him. However, his entire goal is to keep these kids from killing each other, and that counts for something.
9 Chino
Chino ends up in a tough spot in West Side Story. He really did like Maria, but he never had a chance to keep her, as she wanted something more than he could offer. However, he was also a tragic story, someone who loved Bernardo as his closest friend and then lost him.
What keeps Chino from coming across as charmingly as other characters is his awkward shyness and inability to really share his emotions. When he finally does come out, he murders a beloved character, which doomed him at the end of this Romeo & Juliet adaptation.
8 Officer Krupke
Out of the two main police officers, the one that was the most pleasant was Officer Krupke. He was a little less harsh and blunt than Lieutenant Schrank, and it really seemed at times that he was a little more interested in the Jets as kids whose parents he knew.
However, he was also someone who often frustrated the kids. There was even a song based on him where the Jets destroyed the entire police station, leaving Krupke standing flabbergasted at the end.
7 Bernardo
Bernardo was the leader of the Sharks, and was the least appealing of the two alpha males that set up the rumble. He wasn’t all bad, and he was mostly guilty of being too protective of Maria. Bernardo looked after his sister, girlfriend, and the Sharks to a fault.
He was also someone who looked after his friends, and he was very protective of Chino. A boxer by profession, all Bernardo wanted was to reach his dreams, but he died because of his anger and stubborn determination.
6 Tony
Tony is the main protagonist of West Side Story, but there are several things that keep him from being as likable as he should be. For one thing, Tony seems a little too aloof and cool during a movie where violence is always a risk.
Tony loves Maria at first sight, but this also causes a lot of problems for his friends and her family, and he never seems as concerned about the outcome as he could be. As a result, it was hard to pull for Tony even as the tragic end closed in.
5 Riff
Riff is the leader of the Jets, and much like Bernardo, he is also hot-headed, determined, and unwilling to compromise. Played by Mike Faist, he is a little more intriguing than Bernardo because he is a little less developed. Bernardo is very controlling of his sister, while Riff is just protective of his friends.
It is clear that Riff loves Tony, and he would do anything to stand by him. Tony also helps give Riff some sympathetic backstory, explaining that he had no family and home life growing up, making his fate even more tragic.
4 Anybodys
Out of all the Jets and Sharks, there were almost no likable members in either group outside the leaders. The one exception was Anybodys. Nonbinary actor Iris Menas plays the character Anybodys as a nonbinary youngster who wants to be a member of the Jets.
This is a tragic character, one who many of the other Jets treat poorly, with harsh insults and derogatory remarks. Through it all, Nobodys remained a loyal member of the Jets and was there for Tony to the end.
3 Anita
Anita was easily one of the most sympathetic characters in West Side Story and charming from the first moment she appeared. She has a job and has dreams of a better life. She has a great song she sings in the musical with Bernardo about their opposing visions of the future that helped her stand out from others.
However, there was one moment where her appeal really took a dip. After she tried to help Maria and Tony, only to have the Jets assault her, she lied to Valentina about Maria’s fate and her words are what caused the final tragedy of the movie to unfold.
2 Valentina
Valentina was a character that was new for the 2021 version of West Side Story. She replaced Doc in the role of the shop owner who gave Tony a job when he got out of jail and was there to try to keep him on the right path. She was also instrumental in the end when she hides Tony after the rumble.
In the movie, she was the voice of reason and represented the view that the two sides could live in peace, as she was a Puerto Rican woman who married a white man. Her caring and loving personality made her one of the most lovable characters in the entire movie.
1 Maria
The most likable character in West Side Story was easily Maria. This was mostly driven by the fact that she was the most innocent of anyone in the movie. She was not part of the gangs and had no part in any of the violence that surrounded the people on the streets.
The speed with which she fell in love with Tony was concerning, but considering her naivety, that fell more on Tony than it did on Maria. Her breakdown at the end was heartbreaking and it was her loss of innocence that carried the true tragedy of the story, crushing the most likable character in West Side Story.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/west-side-story-2021-main-characters-ranked-by-likability/
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