Rockaway

Anthony and John grow up under the fear of their father's abuse. John especially bears witness to his mother being beaten, which leaves him shaken and protective of his sibling. The two brothers lean on each other as a refuge from the violence at home.

Anthony and John befriend Sal, Billy, Dom, and Brian while playing street basketball on the neighborhood courts. The games cement a close-knit bond among the kids. They start spending more time together off the court as their crew grows.

John becomes obsessed with Knicks star John Starks, using the player as a focal point for his dreams and frustrations. The rest of the group channels their energy through basketball and shared pop culture references. The Knicks become a symbol of their youthful camaraderie.

The kids form a tight gang, offering support and loyalty to each other through their daily struggles. They share meals, stories, and plans for the future, imagining a more stable life beyond their troubled homes. The gang becomes a surrogate family.

Anthony and John's mother decides to move away, uprooting their lives. Before leaving, the brothers hatch a plan for revenge against their abusive father, plotting to harm him with a slingshot and a toppled boiler. The scheme reveals how far they’re willing to go to feel safe.

One night, Anthony, John, and their friends watch a Knicks game together. Their father becomes furious after discovering the refrigerator is empty, and their friends choose to side with the brothers instead of siding with their father. The tension foreshadows the upheaval to come.

The gang spends time at Sal's house watching a Knicks game, unaware that their own house is on fire. They share stories and solidify their bond as danger creeps closer. The blaze underscores the impending break from their old life.

During the crisis at the family home, Anthony acts to save his mother from fainting, displaying a protective instinct amid rising danger. His quick action offers a glimpse of the courage that threads through the brothers and their friends. The moment highlights Anthony's resolve to shield his family.

Anthony then resolves to rescue his father from the basement, driven by loyalty and duty. The attempt is doomed, and he cannot save his father as the situation spirals downward. Both he and his father perish in the basement.

The gang mourns Anthony's death, their grief marking the end of an era. John leaves Rockaway East without telling anyone where he is going, signaling a fracture in the group that once felt invincible. The community begins to drift apart in the wake of tragedy.

Two decades later, an adult John returns to Rockaway East by train, revisiting the places he used to stroll with the gang. The journey hints at unresolved memories and the passage of a long, formative period.

John rents a bicycle and cycles the familiar streets, tracing the paths of his youth. The act marks a tentative re-engagement with a past that still shapes his present. The landscape of his adolescence surfaces in this quiet reconnection.

John meets Dom, who now teaches in high school, signaling a bridge between their past and present. He learns that Brian, Billy, and Sal have become fathers, revealing how their lives diverged yet remained connected by history. The film closes on the sense that memory persists through generations.