Ansel Elgort

  • West Side Story (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Disney Streaming, March 2022) Frankly, I wasn’t asking for a West Side Story remake. I sometimes daydream about laws that would prohibit Academy Award Best Picture winners from ever being remade. But if Steven Spielberg really wants to do a full-fledged musical… the least we can do is check it out. Much to my surprise, I was quite taken by the results. The original West Side Story is one of my favourite 1960s musicals (a decade that was very uneven for the subgenre) and I’m not delusional when I propose that this remake is generally better than the original. No, it’s not as impactful a statement about minority life in America than it was back in 1961. No, it won’t become the reference. But when it comes to the direction and execution, this remake gives the original a hard run for its money. My acid test, the one sequence I was waiting for, was the “America” number—to me, it’s the thematic heart of the film: a music number that presents an argument across gender lines about whether to live or leave America. It’s my favourite sequence of the original, and it’s probably the strongest number of the remake as well, taking to the streets for a colourful choreography, witty staging and breakout star Ariana DeBose at her very best. Now that’s an old-school musical number executed with a contemporary flair. My second-place pick isn’t the bouncy “Gee, Officer Krupke” number (daringly set in an enclosed space), but the dynamic execution of “The Dance at the Gym” even if not much happens during that number. Third place goes to “Cool,” making good use of special effects for a dance number that doubles as a battle between two characters. I like that I get to talk about a modern musical in terms of numbers, because that harkens back to the kind of discussion we can still have about Classic Hollywood musicals. It’s easy to note that West Side Story keeps its modern moviemaking techniques under reins in a successful attempt to re-create a film that looks and feels like a 1960s film. There are a few strong hints of the future intruding on its 1950s story (most notably looking forward to the Lincoln Centre development, and a non-binary character), but the film makes a good-faith attempt to limit what it does to what would have been possible at the time. It works. I’m not all that taken by blandy-bland Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in the lead roles, but their Romeo-and-Juliet shtick is not meant to be flashy. I’m far happier with DeBose (playing a challenging character) and Rita Moreno in a meaty supporting role. There are really interesting comparisons to be made between this West Side Story and the somewhat similar In the Heights, as the latter doesn’t hold back on delivering a thoroughly modern film with contemporary music and flashy special effects (re: “When the Sun Goes Down”). I may prefer In the Heights, but this West Side Story does build upon the original, and that about the best thing one can say about any remake.

  • Baby Driver (2017)

    Baby Driver (2017)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, January 2018) The appeal of Edgar Wright’s role as a director is multifaceted (you can like his impeccable editing, highly structured scripting, hip pop-culture references or ability to get great comic performances from his actors), but he is without peers in his use of music as an essential counterpoint to the visual aspects of his movies. Nearly all of his films so far have included at least one sequence that perfectly blend sound and images, and he pushes that facet of his work to its limits in Baby Driver, a movie in which nearly the entire film seems built around its soundtrack. I mean it in the best way, as the opening sequence proves: Wright dares to synchronize an entire feature film around a selection of underexposed songs and the result is a frizzy delight. Sure, it’s all in the service of a criminal revenge story … but why use labels when the entire film is a tour de force? From beginning to end, Baby Driver is a choreography of sound and visuals as it takes us in the mind of its music-obsessed protagonist. A movie experience with few peers, Baby Driver is meant to be listened to as much as seen—while I’m a big fan of watching movies with the sound down as so not to disturb other members of my household, I made an exception for Baby Driver—and it deserves to be played at the appropriate volume. Ansel Elgort is fine in the lead performance, but the supporting actors are far more interesting, in-between what is likely to be Kevin Spacey’s last high-profile performance, Jon Hamm leaning on his comedy and action skills, Jamie Foxx as a dangerous sidekick and Lily James as the love interest. Much of the overall plot is familiar, but it’s the execution that truly shines—Baby Driver is filled with cool little moments, set pieces and the usual amount of Wright’s clever writing that becomes more apparent upon viewing the film a second time. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a particular treat for anyone who’s been following Wright’s career so far.

  • The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

    The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, August 2015)  I really wasn’t expecting to like this film as much as I did.  Or even, having recently seen a friend die of cancer, to like it at all.  But The Fault in Our Stars prides itself on being quite unlike any of the other cancer movies out there in telling us about two teenagers meeting at a cancer support group.  The sarcastic dialogue and caustic gallows humor that follows is almost immediately charming in its own way, with both Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort being likable teenagers stuck in terrible situations.  Heartwarming without being cloying, merciless without being hopeless, The Fault in Our Stars makes much out of depressing material – it’s an enjoyable and funny film about something terrible and sad.  The stars motif is interesting, the comic set-pieces are memorable, and Willem Dafoe brings an element of mystery, then frustration in the mix.  The script is on-point and if the film does feel a touch too long during its Amsterdam segment, it’s ruthlessly curt coming back from it as it destroys expectations.  Telling you more about the film would be a disservice; take a look and enjoy it for yourself.