20 Best Movie Performances Of 2021
5. Ariana DeBose - West Side Story
There was arguably even more pressure on Ariana DeBose than Rachel Zegler in Spielberg's West Side Story, given that Rita Moreno's original portrayal of Maria's best friend Anita won Moreno a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Despite the show-stealing, iconic appeal of Moreno's performance, DeBose does a fantastic job of delivering her own flashy, extremely charming riff on the character.
At once a tribute to Moreno's portrayal but also something very much its own, DeBose has rightly stormed into Oscar frontrunner status, which would certainly be a poetic result of history repeating itself should she secure the Best Supporting Actress gong outright.
It's perhaps the breakout performance of 2021, granting DeBose a seamless transition from the Broadway stage to the big screen. Just try not to smile during her spirited rendition of "America."