On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
Acting
Usher's surprisingly gripping dramatic debut.
Writing
Tight script that humanizes every side.
Director
Craig Bolotin
Usher
Lester Dewitt
Vanessa Williams
Audrey McDonald
Forest Whitaker
Officer Dante Jackson
Rosario Dawson
Stephanie Williams
Robert Ri'chard
Zacharias 'Ziggy' Malone
Judd Nelson
Ken Knowles
Fredro Starr
Rodney J. Templeton
Sara Gilbert
Lynn Sabatini
Clifton Collins Jr.
Robert 'Rivers' Tremont
Glynn Turman
Principal Allan Armstrong
Vic Polizos
Capt. Monroe
Dale Rivera
Security Guard (Bob)
LeShay N. Tomlinson
Student
Adam Gifford
Cop #2
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Usher's first major dramatic role; he took it specifically to prove he could act beyond his R&B image.
Released two years after the real-life shooting of Amadou Diallo, the film deliberately echoes NYPD tensions that defined late-90s New York.
US
