Last Exit to Brooklyn

In 1952 Brooklyn, workers have entered the sixth month of a strike against the local factory. Shop steward Harry Black relishes his new role as strike secretary, finding it more lucrative and a way to escape home. His wife does not realize that Harry is gay.

Big Joe learns his daughter is pregnant by Tommy, a motorcyclist among the factory workers, and confronts him at the strike office. The confrontation escalates into a physical fight, highlighting personal tensions amid the labor dispute. The scene sets the stage for the strains inside the union and families.

Joe's son admires Tommy and is saving for a motorcycle to impress Tralala. This aspiration shows how personal ambitions intertwine with a harsh working-class world. The motivations of the younger generation run parallel to the strike's tensions.

Tommy agrees to marry Joe's daughter. The baby is born before the wedding, complicating the couple's plans and adding urgency to the family dynamics. The unexpected birth intensifies the emotional stakes within the community.

At the wedding party, Joe again starts a fight with Tommy. The confrontation alarms everyone present, but the two men reconcile when they realize their fighting could threaten the newborn baby. The moment underscores how personal turmoil overlaps with communal events.

Harry meets Regina, another transgender woman, and falls in love. Their romance develops as the strike's pressures mount, challenging Harry's commitment to the union and his personal life. The relationship adds a new dimension to his character arc.

One morning, Harry sleeps in at Regina's and misses the trucks' arrival at the factory. When the trucks force their way in, the strikers try to prevent their exit, escalating into a riot. Police disperse the crowd with water cannons and tear gas, and Harry is injured in a clash with a strikebreaking driver, becoming a hero to the strikers.

Harry introduces Vinnie to Boyce, who accepts an offer to destroy the contractor's trucks. However, Boyce later fires Harry after discovering expense abuses and Harry's absence the morning the trucks arrived. The fallout strains Harry's standing and the union's cohesion.

Harry is fired by Boyce after the trucking incident and his absence the morning trucks arrived. He returns to Regina, hoping for solace, but she throws him out. The firing marks a precipitous fall in his personal and professional life.

Heartbroken, Harry is badly beaten by Vinnie and his associates. They urge Georgette to join in, showing how violence spreads through the community. The assault leaves Harry battered and isolated.

Tralala meets a kindly sailor in Manhattan who seems to truly love her and lets her move in. When he is sent away to war, he leaves her a hopeful note. Depressed, she returns to her old haunts, exposes herself to locals and sailors, and the moment escalates into a gang rape that leaves her catatonic on a mattress.

At Tommy's wedding, Boyce announces that management has caved to union demands and the factory will reopen on Monday. The announcement sparks a moment of celebration among the workers who have endured the strike. The sense of victory is tempered by the personal costs borne throughout the strike.

On Monday, as the workers return to equipment and production, Joe welcomes Tommy to the family and offers him marital advice if he ever needs it. The scene marks a tentative closure to some of the marital and paternal tensions that characterized the period. The community begins to move forward as the labor victory becomes real.