An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
Manhattan, Upper West Side, 1957. Against the backdrop of the decaying tenements in the San Juan Hill neighbourhood and the constant threat of the wrecking ball, two warring gangs--tough Riff's Jets and swaggering Bernardo's Puerto Rican Sharks--fight for supremacy. Now, with a once-and-for-all, winner-takes-all rumble on the cards, an unexpected whirlwind romance at the high-school dance between former Jet brawler Tony and Bernardo's delicate little sister María sets the stage for an all-out turf war. But what's a gang without its territory? Above all, when the future is uncertain, what's hope without love?—Nick Riganas
In 1957, the Jets are a gang of white youths that fight the Puerto Rican Sharks for control of San Juan Hill on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Officer Krupke (Brian d'Arcy James) and Lieutenant Schrank (Corey Stoll) break up the brief skirmish, telling the gangs that their conflict is pointless since the neighborhood will be imminently demolished to make way for Lincoln Center.The gangs are too proud to care, and Jet leader Riff (Mike Faist) proposes a "rumble" (fight) between the two gangs. He approaches his friend Tony (Ansel Elgort), who is on parole, for help. Tony refuses, wishing to turn over a new leaf with the help of Valentina (Rita Moreno), the Puerto Rican owner of Doc's general store.
Meanwhile, Maria (Rachel Zegler), Shark leader Bernardo's (David Alvarez) sister, is betrothed to his friend Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera) but yearns for independence. At a local dance, Tony and Maria meet and fall in love. The school organizer wanted a social experiment with whites and Puerto Ricans dancing with each other. But Riff and Bernardo were adamant to stick to racial lines. Tony comes in and finds Maria standing alone on the side, as Chico cant dance (he is a boxer). TOny and Maria find each other on the dance floor. They share a private dance behind the stadium seats.
This angers Bernardo, who agrees to Riff's terms for a rumble if Tony attends. The date is the following day, midnight. no weapons likes knives or guns are allowed. Tony voices his love for Maria and the couple meets on Maria's fire escape, promising to see each other the next day.
Bernardo and his girlfriend Anita (Ariana DeBose) feud over life in New York compared to Puerto Rico, with Anita believing in the American Dream in spite of the pessimistic Bernardo (Anita wants to have a career and a life in the US, while Bernardo wants 6 kids and wants to return to Puerto Rico). The police interrogate the Jets about the rumble, but they deny any knowledge. Tony takes Maria on a date to the Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. He reveals he was imprisoned for a year after he nearly beat a rival gang member to death, which scared him into reforming. Maria makes Tony promise to stop the rumble, and they pledge their love to one another. Tony knows they cant be together till the rumbles continue. Tony tries to convince Riff to call off the rumble by stealing his newly-bought gun, but the Jets steal it back. Schrank orders Krupke and the police to stop the rumble.
Despite their and Tony's efforts (Tony tells Bernardo that he apologizes for offending him and he has nothing to worry about with regards to Maria. Bernardo attacks Tony and the rumble starts between the assembled gangs), the rumble continues and Bernardo fatally stabs Riff. Tony, in a fit of rage, stabs Bernardo and kills him. The gangs flee when the police arrive, while Chino finds Riff's gun.
Maria gushes about her love for Tony at work (she works as a janitor at a department store, cleaning the store at night, when it is empty), but Chino arrives and reveals Tony killed Bernardo. Maria is distraught, but meeting Tony later she refuses to let him turn himself in as it would mean losing him as well, and they plot to run away together. Valentina (Tony's employer and a maternal figure in his life. Valentina is herself a Puetro Rican and the runs a pharmacy after the Doc's death) learns of Bernardo's death and reflects on her interracial relationship with the late Doc. Meanwhile, Chino plots to kill Tony against the Sharks' protests (as this will only increase the cycle of violence).
After identifying Bernardo's body at the morgue, Anita returns home to see Maria with Tony as he leaves the apartment. Anita argues with Maria but accepts that she and Tony are in love. While Schrank interrogates Maria about Tony's whereabouts, she sends Anita to warn TOny about Chino. However, Anita encounters the Jets (who know that Chino has Riff's gun and is hunting for Tony), who shout racial slurs and attempt to sexually assault her, but Valentina intervenes. Traumatized, Anita spitefully claims Chino killed Maria and vows to return to Puerto Rico, giving up all hope on her American dream. Valentina condemns the Jets, who disperse in shame.
Valentina informs Tony of Anita's claims, and he runs into the streets begging for Chino to kill him. Maria arrives to his relief, but Chino emerges and shoots Tony; he dies in Maria's arms. Maria takes the gun and aims 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 assemble together to take Tony's body and carry it into Doc's with Maria following.
