One Eight Seven
After surviving a stabbing by a student, teacher Trevor Garfield moves from New York to Los Angeles. There, he resumes teaching as a substitute teacher. The education system, where violent bullies control the classrooms and the administration is afraid of lawsuits, slowly drives Garfield mad. He then moves to California to be a sub for a predominantly Native Hispanic/Latin-American high school in Los Angeles. He is tormented by members of a Native Hispanic/Latino-American tag crew named K.O.S. (Kappin’ off Suckaz).
The film commercial failure against its moderate budget of $20.0M, earning $5.7M globally (-71% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its innovative storytelling within the drama genre.
1 win & 1 nomination
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
One Eight Seven (1997) demonstrates strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Kevin Reynolds's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 59 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Trevor Garfield
Ellen Henry
Cesar Sanchez
Benny Chacon
Rita Martinez
Dave Childress
Main Cast & Characters
Trevor Garfield
Played by Samuel L. Jackson
A dedicated high school science teacher who, after being brutally stabbed by a student in New York, relocates to Los Angeles where he encounters even more dangerous students and is pushed to his psychological limits.
Ellen Henry
Played by Kelly Rowan
A compassionate and idealistic computer science teacher who befriends Garfield and represents hope and human connection in the chaotic school environment.
Cesar Sanchez
Played by Clifton Collins Jr.
A dangerous gang member and student who becomes Garfield's primary antagonist, threatening violence and engaging in a deadly game of psychological warfare with the teacher.
Benny Chacon
Played by Lobo Sebastian
A menacing gang leader and close associate of Cesar who participates in the intimidation campaign against Garfield and other students.
Rita Martinez
Played by Karina Arroyave
A bright and promising student who becomes caught between her potential for success and the dangerous gang influences at her school.
Dave Childress
Played by John Heard
The school principal who struggles to maintain order and discipline while navigating bureaucratic constraints and the escalating violence.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Trevor Garfield is an idealistic high school teacher in New York, passionate about education and connecting with his students. He believes in making a difference despite the dangerous environment.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Trevor is brutally stabbed by a student whose paper he failed. The attack nearly kills him, destroying his faith in the system and forcing him to leave New York.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Trevor makes the active choice to return to teaching at John Quincy Adams High School in Los Angeles. He enters another dangerous environment, knowing the risks but unable to abandon his calling., moving from reaction to action.
At 60 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Benny and his gang escalate their campaign against Trevor, vandalizing his car and threatening him directly. Trevor realizes passive resistance won't work—the stakes raise, and he begins to consider crossing moral lines., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 88 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, A innocent student dies, and Trevor realizes he has become corrupted by the violence. His relationship with Ellen collapses as she discovers his dark transformation. He has lost his soul—the literal "whiff of death" surrounds him., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 95 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Trevor realizes the only way to end the cycle is through final confrontation. He orchestrates a deadly game of Russian roulette with Benny, accepting that only death—his or the student's—will resolve the corruption., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
One Eight Seven's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping One Eight Seven against these established plot points, we can identify how Kevin Reynolds utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish One Eight Seven within the drama genre.
Kevin Reynolds's Structural Approach
Among the 6 Kevin Reynolds films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.9, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. One Eight Seven represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Kevin Reynolds filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. For more Kevin Reynolds analyses, see Waterworld, The Count of Monte Cristo and Risen.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Trevor Garfield is an idealistic high school teacher in New York, passionate about education and connecting with his students. He believes in making a difference despite the dangerous environment.
Theme
A colleague warns Trevor: "You can't save them all." The theme of idealism versus survival in a broken system, and whether violence corrupts those who fight it.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Trevor's world in a violent inner-city school. Shows his dedication to teaching, the dangerous gang culture, administrative indifference, and the impossible conditions teachers face.
Disruption
Trevor is brutally stabbed by a student whose paper he failed. The attack nearly kills him, destroying his faith in the system and forcing him to leave New York.
Resistance
Fifteen months later, Trevor has relocated to Los Angeles. He debates whether to return to teaching, haunted by trauma. He resists going back into the classroom but eventually accepts a substitute position at another troubled school.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Trevor makes the active choice to return to teaching at John Quincy Adams High School in Los Angeles. He enters another dangerous environment, knowing the risks but unable to abandon his calling.
Mirror World
Trevor meets Ellen Henry, a fellow teacher who becomes his romantic interest and moral mirror. She represents hope, connection, and the possibility of maintaining idealism without succumbing to darkness.
Premise
Trevor navigates the new school, confronting gang violence and student intimidation. He employs unconventional teaching methods, battles with problem students including gang leader Benny Chacon, and struggles to maintain control without becoming what he fears.
Midpoint
Benny and his gang escalate their campaign against Trevor, vandalizing his car and threatening him directly. Trevor realizes passive resistance won't work—the stakes raise, and he begins to consider crossing moral lines.
Opposition
Trevor's psychological state deteriorates as violence intensifies. He becomes increasingly paranoid and vengeful. Benny's crew murders a student. Trevor begins playing a deadly game, manipulating students into Russian roulette scenarios, becoming the monster he once opposed.
Collapse
A innocent student dies, and Trevor realizes he has become corrupted by the violence. His relationship with Ellen collapses as she discovers his dark transformation. He has lost his soul—the literal "whiff of death" surrounds him.
Crisis
Trevor isolates himself in darkness, confronting what he has become. He processes the death of his idealism and recognizes that the system has destroyed him. He contemplates his final choice.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Trevor realizes the only way to end the cycle is through final confrontation. He orchestrates a deadly game of Russian roulette with Benny, accepting that only death—his or the student's—will resolve the corruption.
Synthesis
The final confrontation unfolds. Trevor and Benny play Russian roulette on the beach. Trevor has loaded the gun to ensure his own death, sacrificing himself to break the cycle and save Benny from becoming a murderer.
Transformation
Trevor lies dead on the beach. The closing image mirrors the opening—a teacher destroyed by the system. But Benny walks away alive, potentially saved. The transformation is tragic: idealism cannot survive in this world, but perhaps sacrifice can prevent the next generation from becoming monsters.