One Eight Seven

1997

One Eight Seven

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

30%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 27

67%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 20,763

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Movie Info

A dedicated high school teacher tries to imbue his troubled, mostly impoverished inner city students with discipline, respect and a love of learning, but unlike the educators in The Blackboard Jungle, To Sir With Love or even Stand and Deliver, this teacher fails and so resorts to desperate means to cope. Up until the moment he was stabbed by a vengeful gang member while teaching at a Brooklyn High School, Trevor Garfield (Samuel L. Jackson) was a dedicated educator. His nearly fatal wounding coupled with an indifferent school administration profoundly changed him. Fifteen months race past and a physically recovered Trevor is substituting at an inner city school in Los Angeles. But though he has changed coast lines, the students are just as vicious, angry and dangerous as their New York counterparts. Trevor is particularly bedeviled by Benny Chacon (Lobo Sebastian), a brazen gangsta who commits a murder and disappears, leaving the defiant Cesar in charge. In proving his dominion, Cesar (Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez) and his cronies commit various crimes against Trevor, whose only friend is fellow teacher Ellen Henry (Kelly Rowan). When Cesar goes too far, Trevor goes over the edge. The action is punctuated by a driving musical score and restless MTV-style camerawork that adds artiness to the unswervingly downbeat plot. The title (pronounced "one, eight, seven") is used by gang members to denote homicide; they in turn took it from a police code.
  • Rating:
    R (adult situations/language, violence)
  • Genre:
    Drama
  • Directed By:
    Kevin Reynolds
  • Written By:
    Scott Yagemann
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Warner Home Video

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Cast

Samuel L. Jackson
as Trevor Garfield
John Heard
as Dave Childress
Kelly Rowan
as Ellen Henry
Clifton Collins Jr.
as Cesar
Tony Plana
as Garcia
Karina Arroyave
as Rita
Lobo Sebastian
as Benny
Jack Kehler
as Hyland
Jonah Rooney
as Stevie
Johan Rooney
as Stevie
Demetrius Navarro
as Paco
Ebony Monique Solomon
as Lakesia
Yannis Bogris
as Barsek
Dominic Hoffman
as Victor
Martha Velez
as Mrs. Chacon
Method Man
as Dennis Broadway
Sage Allen
as Teacher
Kathryn Leigh Scott
as Anglo Woman
Donal Gibson
as Animal Regulation Officer
Lisa Del Mundo
as Asian Girl
Vic Polizos
as Assistant Coroner
Leonard Thomas
as New York Assistant Principal
Antwon Tanner
as Augie
Gannon Brown
as Tywan
Larry Costales
as Hispanic Man
David Reyes
as Investigator
Joanna Sanchez
as Iris
Richard Riehle
as Walter
Harri James
as Librarian
Esther Scott
as Mrs. Ford
Esther 'Tita' Mercado
as Mrs. Santana
Chase A. Garland
as Straggling Student
Anthony Aguilar
as Chicano Tagger
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Critic Reviews for One Eight Seven

All Critics (27) | Top Critics (5)

View All Critic Reviews (27)

Audience Reviews for One Eight Seven

  • Oct 14, 2012
    Looked like some sort of B grade thriller, and didn't turn out to be much more than that.
    familiar s Super Reviewer
  • Aug 05, 2010
    1 of my top favorites
    Brody M Super Reviewer
  • Jun 22, 2009
    Good performance from Samuel L. Jackson, probably the best film i have seen him in so far. Good storyline too.
    Mark C Super Reviewer
  • Apr 14, 2009
    After being felled by a vicious stabbing attack precipitated by failing a student, a determined Brooklyn high school science teacher heads west for a fresh start. But his new assignment--substitute... After being felled by a vicious stabbing attack precipitated by failing a student, a determined Brooklyn high school science teacher heads west for a fresh start. But his new assignment--substitute relief in a gang-ridden school for a teacher on "stress leave"--proves even more exhausting, as his new pupils' resistance to his teaching soon provokes a potentially deadly desperation. Penned by first-timer Scott Yagemann, a seven-year veteran of the LA school system. "187" is California police code for murder.
    Martin D Super Reviewer
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