West Side Story

In 1957, the Jets, a gang of white youths, brawl with the Sharks, a gang of Puerto Rican youths, for control of San Juan Hill on Manhattan's Upper West Side. New York City Police Department Sergeant Krupke and Lieutenant Schrank disband their latest scuffle, with Schrank deriding their conflict as pointless since the neighborhood will soon be demolished to make way for Lincoln Center. The gangs are too proud to care, and Jet leader Riff proposes a rumble between the two gangs. He approaches his friend Tony, who is on parole, for help. Tony declines, seeking self-reformation via Valentina, the Puerto Rican owner of Doc's general store. Meanwhile, María, Shark leader Bernardo's sister, is betrothed to his friend Chino, but yearns for an independent future. At a neighborhood dance in the community center that night, Tony and María meet and fall in love, infuriating Bernardo; however, Bernardo accepts Riff's terms to participate in the proposed rumble, provided that Tony attends as well. Tony later confesses his love to María on her fire escape, and they vow to reconvene the next day. Bernardo and his girlfriend Anita compare life in New York to life in Puerto Rico, with Anita's belief in the American Dream contrasting with Bernardo's rude pessimism. Under police interrogation, the Jets feign obliviousness about the rumble. During their date at the Cloisters, Tony reveals to María that his year-long imprisonment for nearly beating a rival gang member to death had scared him into reforming. María makes Tony promise to stop the rumble, and they make promises to one another as if marrying before God. Later, Tony implores Riff to cancel the rumble by stealing his newly bought gun, but the Jets steal it back, with Riff reasserting that the rumble will happen as scheduled. Schrank orders Krupke and other police officers to quell the rumble, but they are unsuccessful. Arriving at the rumble, Tony speaks to Riff, who overconfidently relinquishes the gun. Tony then pacifistically explains his feelings for Maria to Bernardo, who injures him with his boxing skills before then targeting Riff. Responsively, Tony pins Bernardo down but stops short of punching him into unconsciousness. Unwilling to let Tony walk away, Bernardo pursues him with a knife. Ultimately, he fatally stabs Riff before being fatally stabbed by Tony. The gangs flee when the police arrive, and Chino walks away with Riff's gun. María gushes about her love for Tony to her coworkers in the late-night cleaning crew at the Gimbels department store. Once their shift concludes, she encounters Chino, who reveals that Tony murdered Bernardo. She initially denies it until Tony arrives at her apartment later and confirms Chino's statement. Although initially furious with him, she begs him not to surrender to the police, and they plan to escape together. Valentina laments the recent deaths while reflecting on her interracial relationship with her deceased white husband Doc. After identifying Bernardo's body at the morgue, Anita returns home and sees María and Tony together as he leaves the apartment. Anita argues with María, but eventually accepts that the pair are in love. At the boxing gym, Chino reveals his intention to kill Tony, despite the Sharks' warnings. While Schrank interrogates her at her apartment about Tony's whereabouts, María sends Anita to warn Tony by asking Valentina about the safety of "a cousin". However, at Doc's, Anita encounters the Jets, who insult and attempt to gang rape her, even as their girlfriends protest, until Valentina arrives and intervenes. Traumatized, Anita calls Valentina a traitor for housing the Jets, claims that Chino killed María, and vows to return to Puerto Rico. Valentina condemns the Jets, who shamefully disperse, before relaying Anita's message to Tony, who runs into the streets, begging for Chino to kill him. As María arrives, to Tony's relief, Chino emerges and fatally shoots him. After Tony dies in her arms, a devastated María takes the gun and brandishes it at the gathered Jets and Sharks, berating them for the senseless deaths their conflict caused, before tearfully dropping the gun. As the police arrive to arrest Chino, the gangs finally end the feud by coming together to carry Tony's corpse into Doc's, with María following close behind.

Plot from West Side Story (2021 film)CC BY-SA 4.0