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This film probably wouldn’t exist if Kevin Spacey hadn’t embraced the script, agreed to produce and act, and endorsed screenwriter Matthew Ryan Hoge as a first-time director. After all, the story of a well-meaning teacher in a juvenile detention prison who can’t fathom the random violence of his students mirrors Hoge’s work experiences when he left the safety net of UCLA film school. The movie brings together Don Cheadle as Pearl Madison, the teacher, and Ryan Gosling as Leland Fitzgerald, a sensitive middle-class kid who’s landed in prison after, seemingly without reason, he knifed to death the autistic brother of his former girlfriend. There are some sterling performances: Cheadle, as always, and Donnie Darko’s fabulous girlfriend, Jena Malone, as Leland’s junkie ex. But Hoge might have better spent his time toning down his self-conscious, overwritten script and allowing a more seasoned filmmaker to direct. As for Spacey, he’s pretty much wallpaper in a supporting role as Leland’s asshole-novelist dad. (108 minutes)