Against the Wall is a 1994 American action historical drama television film directed by John Frankenheimer, written by Ron Hutchinson, and starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kyle MacLachlan.

[1][2][4][5] The movie is focused on rookie Corrections Officer Michael Smith (Kyle MacLachlan) and inmate Jamaal X (Samuel L. Jackson) who develop a wary friendship with each other.

[1] The film opens with a montage of news footage from the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the assassination of Robert Kennedy, students killed at the Kent State shootings and the Watts riots.

The movie then shows the quiet streets of Attica, New York and a 22 year old Smith in a barber shop getting his long hair cut.

Corrections Officers treat the prisoners abusively, with violence and needless strip searches, and basic needs like functioning toilets are ignored.

[1][4] Smith is portrayed as the only officer who treats the inmates with respect and his occasional signs of sympathy for the prisoners make his co-workers suspicious of him.

Jamaal protects the officers from Chaka and the other sadists, recognizing they will lose the ability to negotiate with government officials if the hostages are killed.

[8] As the news conference, Smith hints to Jamaal that he cares more about his own dignity than the approval of others, an attitude he did not show prior to the crisis.

[9] However, New York's governor ends negotiations on the fifth day of the uprising and orders a raid by law enforcement officials and soldiers.

[4] The U.S. prison population had risen 300 percent since the uprising, surpassing South Africa as the biggest per capita in the world, and this was likely to worsen with the three strikes law.

[12] Observers like radical defense lawyer William M. Kunstler, The New York Times columnist Tom Wicker, and Bobby Seale, chairman of the Black Panther Party, were invited to inspect prison conditions and monitor negotiations.

[2][15] Although agreement appeared near on many of the inmates' demands, the assault was approved when negotiations over amnesty had stalled and there were concerns for the safety of the hostages.

After the shooting stopped, scores of prisoners were beaten and tortured, hundreds of whom were seriously wounded and initially denied medical care;[5][16][17] the identity of the person who shot Michael Smith has not been revealed.