There aren’t many actors out there today that have the range and capabilities that Samuel L. Jackson does. It seems like one of the busiest men in Hollywood doesn’t know how to say no to a movie…and that’s ok by me. I love watching Mr. Jackson on the screen and it comes to no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed one of his most underrated and not widely viewed films, 187. This movie has been in my collection for a few years now and whenever I ask anybody if they ever have seen it they usually say ‘no’ in which case we sit down and enjoy a very well written and directed film.
187 is about Trevor Garfield (Jackson), a school teacher working as an inner-city Manhattan school. 187, the police code for homicide, is written in one of his books as a death threat to the teacher which is overlooked by the administration. The result, Garfield is eventually stabbed by one of his students. A year and a half later, Garfield moves to LA and begins to substitute at a new school filled with mostly Latinos, many of whom are involved in gangs. This time Garfield knows better than to sit by and take crap from his students. Instead of sitting and watching the world fall apart in front of him, he decides to take action and fight back against his unruly, disobedient students. Garfield becomes a street player in a whole different sense after his near death experience 15 months ago.
If you can get your hands on this well paced 1997 drama, I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Most people go in with the expectation of another poorly acted, directed, and written, Jackson film but instead what you find is a clever arrangement of cuts, dialogue, and scare tactics used to put you right in Trevor’s shoes. It is this arrangement that help sets the stage for an epic climax in the final minutes of the film. Additionally, the one thing that I truly stood out and made me love this movie even more was the soundtrack. It clearly defined and set the mood for the full 2 hour duration which then helped emphasize each characters individual struggle of living in the rough city of LA. Music was an extremely powerful and well utilized tool which significantly helped distinguish this movie from other ghetto flicks. It truly made you feel like you were on the streets of Latino Los Angeles, chilling in your cruiser and kicking it with your homies in the school parking lot. Finally, I thought the people that were casted were, on the whole, extremely authentic. Some of the individual characters looked and felt like they grew up in the LA ghetto which added to the realistic nature of the film.
On the negative side, I’d say the acting itself was mediocre. Many of the actors/actresses, excluding Jackson, seemed to be trying too hard and couldn’t grasp some of the advanced emotions of their characters even though they seemed pretty authentic. Although they weren’t bad, there was definitely some room for improvement and it showed during some of the scenes including one where Garfield was being surrounded and taunted by Cesar Sanchez (Clifton Collins Jr.) and his buddies.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching 187. It delivered a fresh take on the vengeance genre and helped reinforce what it’s like to be a teacher working in an impoverished area where students just don’t seem to give a damn. It definitely helps you give more respect for the teaching profession and as you watch the movie makes you wonder how many teachers feel the same way as Garfield. This movie is great for students but even better for fellow teachers to watch because it was made for you, the ones who instruct and inspire the youth of today. This movie does teach you one thing, never mess with a teacher’s scorn.
The film is directed by Kevin Reynolds (The Count of Monte Cristo, Waterworld) and also stars John Heard (White Chicks, The Sopranos) and Kelly Rowan (The O.C., Three to Tango)
Rating: A vengeful battle between a teacher and his students
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