The Strength of Love

In West Side Story, a modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, most of the story line stays the same between the two but some aspects are changed.  The most noticeable of which, for me at least, was the fact that Maria does not die at the end of the film, contrary to both Romeo and Juliet dying in the end of the story.  This culminated scene begins very powerfully with Tony running through the streets looking and yelling for Chino, Maria's supposed killer, telling him to find him and kill him as well.  Right as Maria finds Tony, Chino comes out of the dark and shoots Tony to the ground.  When both Romeo and Juliet died at the end of their story, I felt it conveyed a stronger set of emotions behind their love as well showed the two feuding families their own faults.  With only Tony dying whilst Maria stays alive, I feel as though this movie did not end in the same dramatic and moving fashion.  While, to the directors credit, Maria does have an emotional speech about the absurdity of the two rival gangs fighting, she only toys with the idea of suicide by asking if there is another bullet left in the gun for her.  The whole reason both Romeo and Juliet die in the story, besides the misinformation that was given, is for their love for one another.  Upon seeing Romeo dead, Juliet kills herself because she knows that she cannot live without her true love and, therefore, has no reason left to be alive.  This scene in the play conveys the strength of their love for each other.  Yet, in the movie, because Maria does not kill herself, the audience does not receive the same idea of their love for each other.  While the movie is a moving love story, it is simply not on the same level impassioned love as the original because of the lack of devotion between Maria and Tony.

Although the final scene in the movie ultimately showed a lesser amount of love between Maria and Tony as compared to Romeo and Juliet, there were some interesting aspects earlier in the film which conveyed their connection aptly.  During the dance scene, when Maria and Tony first see each other, the rest of the screen is blurred while the camera only focuses on the two characters.  This cinematic technique shows their individuality or separation from the two fighting gangs.  This technique is later used again when the two lovers are talking outside of Maria's apartment, further displaying their separation from the gangs and, possibly, the world.  In those two moments, the technique showing their separation implies that their love knows no boundaries, whether they be racial or even worldly.  This separation is shown when both Maria and Tony disregard their ties with the two rival street gangs and focus only on their love.  In the final scene, although Maria does not take her own life after Tony is killed, she gives him one last kiss and it is safe to say that her love for him remains.  The separation shown earlier is further emphasized during this scene because the audience can surmise that Maria's love for Tony will remain even after his death, implying that their separation transcends worldly constraints, even death.  Therefore, while the story itself is not quite as powerful due to the lack of Maria's death at the end, the strength of their love is still shown by a clever filming technique, demonstrating that their love surpasses both racial and worldly boundaries.