Rockaway 2017

Anthony [Keidrich Sellati] and John [Maxwell Apple] grow up in a troubled home, enduring years of abuse at the hands of their father [Wass Stevens]. Their mother [Marjan Neshat] also bears the scars of the violence. The two brothers form a deep, protective bond as they navigate a harsh world, clinging to small acts of kindness and shared hopes.

At a neighborhood basketball court, they befriend Sal [Drew Powell], Billy [Harrison Wittmeyer], Dom [James DiGiacomo], and Brian [Tanner Flood], and the five friends spend long afternoons playing baseball and dreaming beyond the shadows of their street. John’s fixation with Knicks star John Starks becomes a familiar touchstone for the group.

When their mother decides to move away, Anthony and John begin to plot revenge against their father, carrying out a reckless act—slingshotting a light bulb and nudging a boiler toward him. One night, the boys watch a Knicks game at Sal’s house; their father erupts over an empty refrigerator, and the friends choose to stand with the brothers.

As events unfold, the gang often references Stand By Me, drawing parallels between themselves and the film’s boys. They also note that John is like Gordie, given his talent for drawing, and imagine a different future if Gordie had killed Ace, suggesting writing would never have come to be.

A confrontation arises between Anthony and Billy, with Billy arguing that Anthony is no different from their father. The night before moving, the boys gather at Sal’s to watch Knicks, unaware that their own house is on fire. Anthony saves his mother when she faints, and then tries to rescue his father from the basement. He fails, and both he and his father die.

The group grieves; John leaves town, vanishing without a word.

Twenty years later, a grown John returns to Rockaway East by train, rents a bicycle, and revisits the places where he and his friends used to wander. He reconnects with Dom, who is now teaching at a high school, and learns that Billy, Sal, and Brian are now fathers themselves.