One Eight Seven (1997)

You won't be disappointed!

The Worst Film Ever

Load of rubbish!!

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

In fairness I think there's inevitable bias from seeing this movie in 2018 as opposed to 1997 when it was released because I kept expecting Samuel L Jackson to either turn into Nick Fury. Or for that matter Jules from Pulp Fiction which by 2018 I must have seen at least 20 times and so I was waiting for him to turn around to the unruly class and say "I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing!" as well as when he's having a discussion about the bible with someone say "Well there's this passage I've got memorized, it sorta fits the occasion." I guess what I'm saying is that by 2018 Samuel L Jackson has played such iconic roles that its hard to see him as anything else, at least for me and this probably detracted from me being able to fully immerse myself in this movie.

A powerful story about urban violence and how it can affect inner city schools, this is an excellent little film. Samuel L. Jackson shines as the teacher fed up with his class who eventually begins exact his own kind of justice by bumping off the problem pupils. An atmosphere of simmering violence is built up along with a lot of suspense in a tale that had me hooked. The reliable Jackson puts in an excellent performance as the bitter teacher who has been driven to the edge.The rest of the cast do their jobs well, especially the actors playing the loathsome pupils. What I liked best about this film was the surprising ending, which sees Jackson and his adversaries playing Russian Roulette round a table. A superb ending to what is an interesting, sometimes difficult to watch but still important film. Forget the watered-down crap that most television stations show, this is raw, forceful viewing which asks questions. In fact it reminded me of some of those gritty '70s films, as it has the same hard edge.

Teacher Trevor Garfield survives a stabbing by a student, moving from New York to Los Angeles, with a different perspective on life, he resumes teaching as a substitute. But Trevor finds that the same old problems still persist, only now he's going to do things his way......One Eight Seven, directed by Kevin Reynolds {The Count of Monte Cristo} and starring as its lead, Samuel L. Jackson {Pulp Fiction}, is another in a long line of teacher and unruly students based plotters. Trace a line from Blackboard Jungle to The Principal, to Class Of 1984, The Substitute, Dangerous Minds and you get the picture. It's a shame then that as a formula, it's now looking a bit frayed around the edges. Because Reynolds' film does have a couple of things up its sleeve with which to make it a time worthy viewing.Firstly there is Samuel L. Jackson himself. By his own admission, he's someone who will work for food. However he is capable of the odd flash of excellence, regardless the quality of film he is appearing in. He may be adored by the MTV generation for stints in Tarrantino pulpers, but it's with film's like Changing Lanes, and this here Reynolds piece, that he really puts down his marker of ability. As Garfield he is asked to go thru a character makeover during the story, not complex as such, but in a sanity breaking point kind of way. Something that Jackson really gets to grips with and in spite of the bad acting around him {shame shame casting director}. Secondly is the ending itself. No it's not shattering in the pantheon of genre pieces emotionally, but on the intelligence scale it scores rather high. We may have been fed a pre-empt earlier in the piece, but the outcome is no less dramatic for it. Some standard genre stereotyping causes a roll of the eyes, and pet peril and sexy teacher under threat is a touch too tiresome for the older, experienced viewer. But this one deserves a better reputation because it at least tries to offer something different. It doesn't succeed across the board, oh no, but at least it's got enough about it to roll its credits knowing at least it tried to veer away from its genre restraints..and it's got Sammy Jackson on prime form. 7/10

"One Eight Seven" (1997) is one of those films that you want to hate because of it's gritty reality but can't ignore because it presents a serious problem in today's American school system. Samuel Jackson portrays realistically a substitute teacher named Trevor Garfield who had good intentions in going into teaching but in the process was pushed too far. John Heard also puts in a stellar performance as the corrupt and alcoholic teacher Dave Childress who acts as an example for Mr. Garfield as to what it means to go too far. Kelly Rowan on the other hand acts as what it is to be a good teacher Ellen Henry, in essence the other side of Mr. Garfield's conscience. In the end this story proves to be a tragedy, which may be necessary to make the audience think about what's wrong with the school system as portrayed in this film. Love it or hate it, watch it. A 7 out of 10.