The movie benefits from Samuel L. Jackson’s committed performance, though it's undeniably a disheartening experience. He portrays "Garfield," an educator who relocated to Los Angeles following a violent stabbing at his prior school in New York; he remains dedicated to continuing his career. The students in his new Los Angeles classroom are a varied group, largely disengaged from learning and resistant to any form of leadership—with the possible exception of "Rita" (Karina Arroyave), who is striving for success despite social pressures. From early on, "Garfield" faces opposition from the young man “Cesar” (Clifton Collins Jr.), and a significant portion of the film focuses on building up to their eventual confrontation, which ultimately feels rather anticlimactic. Director Kevin Reynolds delivers a harsh critique of an educational system that seems remarkably unconcerned with the welfare of its employees or pupils. The condition of the school buildings, the safety of those within them, and the students’ attitudes all appear entangled in a cycle of neglect and apprehension about legal action. Jackson offers a restrained portrayal, but his character feels somewhat detached. An attempted subplot involving his anxious coworker "Ellen" (Kelly Rowan) aims to add some emotional depth, yet it fails to alleviate the pervasive sense of darkness, gloom, and bleakness that characterizes the narrative—a story purportedly rooted in reality, as it was written by a schoolteacher—and which leaves a curiously forgettable impression.

Source on TMDB