Customer Reviews

School Ties

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This film might have seemed "strained and obvious" to some of the other reviewers here, but if you are Jewish and grew up in the 1950's, you'll relate to it very well. Especially the part about having to violate the Jewish holidays in order to play on the team -- a conflict that still arises for Jewish students today.

I've used this film very successfully in high school discussions and in classes on antisemitism. And yes, things like this really did happen to Jews -- and still do. The question of whether or not to stay "in the closet" and "pass" or be yourself and get rejected is an issue for other minorities, too. If you work in any area of multicultural studies and/or dialogue, you should add this film to your library.

School Ties is a touching movie that is often compared to Dead Poets Society. While there are similarities (ie: teenage boys in a 1950s prep school setting), there are more differences. This is less of a movie about looking up to someone only to see them cut down before your eyes and the bonds and respect associated with that, and more of a story of the bonding and betrayal of friends.

A young Brendan Fraser is stunning as David Green, a working class Jewish kid accepted to one of the most prestigious preparatory schools in the country. It would only be for one year, but what a year. With dreams of going to Harvard, this was his way in. He keeps his religion a secret from the new friends he makes, but when it all comes out in the end, slurs are thrown and the people he thought he could trust leave David high and dry.

It speaks of an era when there were 100 different slurs for each religion and race, and the people who actually believed that somehow they were better. No character is portrayed in this negative light better than Charlie Dillon, brought to life by none other than Matt Damon. The seeds of his jealousy are planted within the first fifteen minutes and as the movie progresses you see Dillon become more desperate for his former status after David Green takes his position on the football team and in the life of a girl he thinks to be his.

Other standouts include Chris O'Donnell, playing Fraser's fictional roommate, who is forced to deal with the situation a bit more close up than some of their classmates. Randall Batinkoff, though not well known, gives a fabulous performance as Damon's fictional roommate, having to decide which is more important: his best friend and roommate of 4 years, or his morals and conscience urging him to speak up in defense of David Green. Surprisingly, Cole Hauser, who generally is cast as a not-so-nice guy comes off completely different in this picture. His character, Jack Connors seems rude and hard-nosed throughout, but when it's all on the line, he really delivers, making it known that Connors is not the bigot he has been made out as.

The movie was well scripted and brilliantly cast, from the guy who no one thought would come out on top (Fraser) to the guy who would be expected to rule the world (Damon). Set in a time when life was a little rougher and people were judged more harshly, School Ties really speaks of the fear and degradation one might face for being "different", and tells of the strength and courage that comes with being "different". Some might say that the movie is too harsh with its message of bigotry, but that was a time when it was very real and it must embraced in order to learn from it and not have it happen again.

This movie is definitely made "the way they used to make 'em," as some would say - and most reviewers do not mention that Dick Wolf, of "Law and Order" fame, is the creator of the story, which concerns a Jewish high school boy getting the golden opportunity to excel in sports and academics at an elite boarding school. It's superbly made - the music by Maurice Jarre, one of the great film composers - is just one of the stand outs of this terrific film. The acting is genuine, heart felt, and strong. I wish Brendan Fraser had made more films like this, playing a real man, not the action hero kinds of things he did later. He really excels here - and so does Matt Damon, in a terrific, complex turn, echoing his later role in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," as a self-described "mediocrity," riding the coattails of his much more talented father and brother. Amy Locane, radiant here, is another superb actress we have not seen enough of in roles like this one. Unlike so many contemporary movies, which never seem to end, and have no sense of pace or story, "School Ties" has no fat at all: it's beautiful directed and photographed, beautifully scored, wonderfully acted and written. And its message, though sometimes overstated, is still applicable today: prejudice, in whatever form it takes, destroys lives and damages and diminishes all of us. This theme, together with other themes in the picture of religious faith, loyalty to friends and family, the meaning of hard work, marks this as a very unusual picture for its time, right at the cusp of the greedy '90's, and there probably hasn't been as good a picture on this subject since. This is a minor classic, without a doubt. One of those films you return to time and again, like an old friend, for the reassurance of decency and trying to do good in an often cold and harsh world. The closing moments of this picture are among my favorites in any film I've ever seen. This deserves a re-release, with a 15th anniversary approaching, and some great extras and interviews. It's a very fine picture!

SCHOOL TIES was a classic. The acting was great and the story line was fantastic! Poor Brendan Fraser, when the school found out he's jewish! I would recomend this to people who are into how life used to be....And also enjoying seeing <3Brendan Fraser<3 serious

"School Ties" provides an excellent tale of the truth about the nostalgic past--about the polite and not-so polite hostility towards those perceived as inferior, dressed up in elegant as well as not-so-elegant surroundings. It is a story dealing mostly with people who appear to have every advantage in life and every opportunity for generosity towards others, but who are empty and bigoted. They choose to hate and to influence others in their circle to rail against the object of their hatred.
Through it all Brendan Fraser carries himself with grace and dignity. He plays David Greene, a poor Scranton, Pennsylvania kid who is given a rare opportunity to better himself at a Massachusetts prep school in 1955. The film begins with a view of his tough neighborhood, and an alleyway brawl between himself and a few local anti-Semites. Soon afterwards, with last-minute advice from his father he arrives at St.Matthew's, a calm and stately academic environment where he becomes fast friends with the popular students, which include a congenial Chris O'Donnell as Chris Reece, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in an early joint appearance as Charlie Dillon and Chesty Smith, Andrew Lowrey as the vulnerable McGivern, Cole Hauser as the charismatic Jack Conners, Randall Batinkoff as the courageously honest Rip Van Kelt, and the cold and distant Anthony Rapp as Richard "McGoo" Collins.
The boys enjoy music, football games, and playing pranks on the French teacher together(An early scene of Fraser making noises like an ape during one such prank seems to have paved the way for him to play George of the Jungle a few years later) . But Greene is soon exposed to his classmates' feelings about Jews, as well as those of Headmaster Dr. Bartram, played by Peter Donat, who barely covers his feelings with polite and restrained turns of phrase.
David proves to be a worthy classmate and student, standing up for his friends when they are wronged, even by authority figures, winning friends with his unprentiousness and wit, helping his team win football games, and winning the heart of Charlie Dillon's friend, Sally Wheeler.
An ethereal and angelic Amy Locane, who has the classic looks of a '50s model, has this part. During her initial appearance at a school dance, her striking beauty stands out from that of the other girls, and she is definitely at her most radiant and most demure in her scalloped off-the-shoulder velvet dress, dancing at a country club to a Rodgers and Hart (not Rodgers and Hammerstein, of course) tune . But in a way, her role is one of the most tragic because she leaves one with the sense that she might have been willing to accept David or anyone who has earned the right to be liked, regardless of origins, but has to surrender a potential love interest because of the predjudices of her family and friends. If we had to imagine a future for her, we might find her in a loveless marriage with someone whose religious background met her family's approval rather than a happy marriage with someone whose religious denonimation they were vehemently against.
We see the academic pressure put on these students and how their strong desire to live up to their families' expectations results in their stooping to subterfuge. David suffers various setbacks after he is exposed as a Jew, which happens partially because the envious Charlie Dillon lashes out in frustration. He challenges his schoolmates to face up to their real feelings about him, inspiring some of them to overcome their predjudices, and standing up to one authority figure who covertly and not so covertly encouraged the students to adopt such an attitude.
Greene's biggest moment of triumph in the film comes as he walks across the campus after a profound moment of truth, rather symbolically adjusting the collar of his coat against a cold world, having battled a few of its injustices, and looking a little taller than the many young men from whom he otherwise appears no different, with his future vast before him.

I see this movie from time to time and don't tire of watching it. Fraser plays a Jewish high school senior taken out of his working-class neighborhood to attend a prestigious Christian boys school. As he gains the friendship of the students, the admiration of the staff and alumni, and the heart of a girl, he comes across the envy of a wealthy classmate played by Matt Damon. The secret's out of his Jewish faith and he is left to fend for himself, although some of the students didn't care but he felt like he was by himself as the school days dragged on.
People like the character played by Matt Damon make it clear they are superior to those whether it be race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. They soon find out that they are less than what they say they are. Jews are perceived as being economically stable, but the character played by Fraser came from a working-class family struggling to get by. Like any parent from each class, it's their dream to want to see thier child/children acheive.
In the end, he reminded the faculty why he was here. This movie has an important lesson in tolerance.

There's the crowd of glib, eccentric preppies, playing pranks on the French teacher... and we know that prejudice is going to rear its ugly head, but then it's so much more interesting than you're expecting.

For one, Dillon (Damon) is such a real person. He's such a sport about the scholarship kid coming in and taking his place on the football team. My favorite part is when he tells Green, "If you get into Harvard, you'll deserve it," (subtext: unlike me). He was even prepared to take it like a man when Green steals his girl. But that horrible feeling of inadequacy -- that he's never going to live up to his brother's standard, that he's just a sham of his family's reputation, transforms magically into hate when he realizes his rival is a Jew.

Dillon knows Green is the better man. He KNOWS it, but he still uses his religion to beat him down. It doesn't even matter whether Dillon believes the stereotypes. As long as some do, they can be used to attack the rival.

Charlie Dillon makes an excellent villain because he can be identified with. Whether you or I would attack someone's religious faith isn't necessarily the question. When people are in dire straights, they tend to jettison their principles and grab whatever tool seems handiest and most effective. I love the fact that we get to see this guy at his best and his worst.

When the question of the Honor Code arises, we get to see another side of the world faced by the outsider. Even if his classmates can get over their prejudice and remember that Green is a good guy, will that be enough to make them turn on one of their own? Even if they do, will it matter?

This movie was so much better than it had to be. Great plot, great characters, great atmosphere.

"School ties" is the story of David Green (Brendan Fraser), a working-class Jewish boy from PA who wins a football scholarship to a prestigious New England prep school during the 1950s.

David is smart, hard-working, and tries to fit in with his wealthier, privileged, well-connected classmates. He studies, makes friends, helps the football team defeat a rival, wins a girlfriend from a neighboring girls' boarding school, and does it by being himself, except that he hides his Jewish faith.

A rival teammate, Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon), discovers that David is Jewish, and everything changes. Friends (including his girlfriend) drop him, there are anti-Semitic slurs, including finding a Swastika hanging on his wall. Only his roommate (Chris O'Donnell) shows signs of maturity and of accepting him.

An infraction of the school's honor code during an exam brings the whole issue to a head, and David is the likely scapegoat. Honor (and honesty) does prevail, and the irony of the whole matter is that David is by far the best representative of the boarding school's values, far better than any of his wealthier, Christian classmates.

Excellent story, cast, and acting. Highly recommended.

The storyline is nothing new. Poor jewish kid goes to rich christian school and endures bigotry. However, the script is well written, the characters are complex, the acting is good and the direction is tight. What makes this film special is that you actually care about the characters. They are not one demensional.

I especially liked the Matt Damon character ( Dillion ). He is a complex villian.
He is not inherently an evil character but one of weak character that decides to do evil. He loses the quaterback position on the football team and his girlfriend to the jewish kid. He does not hate the Brenden Frasier character ( David Green) so much that he is jewish, but more because he cant compete against David.
The revelation that david is jewish becomes a covenient way of destroying david's success at the school. Ironically, if dillon had not lost his g/f to david, one can infer that he and david would have remained friends despite the revelation that David was jewish.

The truly hateful character is suprisingly Davids G/F. She dumps dillon because David was the golden boy at the school.
She is very sweet and apears to love david but dumps him immediately after finding out he is jewish. The scene where she breaks up with David is heart-breaking.
She had no love for david but was more concerned with what "people might think." To her, david was the trophy B/F.
But when she discovered he was jewish, the trophy lost its luster.

The movie does not present bigotry in simplistic terms which many movies do. It shows varying degrees of bigotry from improper humour to overt hatred.

The movie is well made and worth watching and discussing afterwards.

"Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it from a different perspective"- John Keating, 'Dead Poet's Society'. School Ties is not your typical story of Anti-Semitism. It gives you both sides; the Jew and those who can't get beyond it.
David Greene is accepted by his peers at Prep School, but he is never truly at ease because he can't let his guard down. This movie is excellent at showing how fast people can turn on you, and how true it is that people put up facades. This movie really tests true friendship. It tests loyalty as well. Once his secret is out, most of his friends turn on him... he is almost expelled from school because of the injustice of having no one believe him. Finally, one person is able to see how wrong it is... but the movie is just a series of powerful moments about betrayal, love, honesty, and differences. Everyone should watch the movie once to see how ugly hate can be.