School Ties
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Movie Reviews of School Ties
Movie Review: Speaks of days past and a time almost forgotten
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Beautifully Made, Well Acted, Sensitively Written - A Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
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!Movie Review: The School Ties That Bind
Summary: 5 Stars
School Ties is about a poor, exceptional football player who gets accepted to a prestigious prep school on a scholarship but chooses to hide his Jewish heritage.
Once he's revealed by a jealous jerk, everybody turns on him.
The film examines prejudice and acceptance. Not just acceptance of others, but acceptance of yourself. David hides apart of himself because it is convenient. But he learns at the end that denying his faith and ethnicity was wrong, though I can't exactly blame him. When he first arrives, he hears an anti-Semitic phrase ("I jewed him down") by a guy he ends up caring about as the guy suffers a nervous breakdown because he failed a French test.
Matt Damon is the villain. This was the first film I saw with Damon in it. He's definitely a p-rick. Incidentally, I don't like Matt Damon as an actor or person at all. Everytime I see him, he has this smug smirk on his face. He comes off as a real a-hole. In my opinion, he should play villains all the time because I don't buy him as the good guy, which is why I have avoided his Bourne...movies and basically anything else with him in it; except for the Talented Mr. Ripley where he also plays a sleazy villain.
The cast list reads like a Brat Pack Part Deux: Brendan Fraser, Chris O'Donnell, Amy Locane, Matt Damon, and even a slightly chubby Ben Afflack (not a typo).
What I also like about the film is the ending. It doesn't suffer from the usual Hollywood ending in which everything has to be neatly tied up at the end of 2 hours. I certainly like closure in most films, but with this film, there can really be no closure. David's fight against bigotry is going to be ongoing. At the end, no one has changed. And in real life, it's mostly like that. If Matt Damon's character had changed by the end, it would have been stupid. I'm pretty sure the thought police have a problem with the bigot not being reformed by the end, but bigotry can't change overnight.
School Ties is a great movie.
Movie Review: Prejudice of Privilege
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes I imagine being back in school in the 1950s. My memories are filled with happy times and significant events in the world. I enjoyed the movie "School Ties." I like distinct things about this film: the characterization, the setting, and especially the clear picture of attitudes that were prevalent during the 1950s.
Watching the performances of several actors early in their careers is fun. The cast includes Brandan Fraiser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, and Ben Affleck. In "School Ties" they are very young but their performances are good and fun to view. Brandon is especially impressive as the main character, a Jewish athlete attending a Christian boarding school.
"School Ties" is a wonderful portrayal of life in the 1950s, with marvelous attention to detail in the cars, buildings and dress. Even the mannerisms of the people, the songs used as background, the human attitudes, and the language the characters use, is realistic. Finally this film captures the interaction between genders exactly as it was then.
"School Ties" presents an underlying theme of bigotry. It depicts the myriad ways in which otherwise pleasant people become vicious in their hatred of people different from themselves - based only on rumor and discrimination passed on to them from others, such as parents and peers.
"School Ties" is a story of prejudice told well - deep feelings that lead to unthinkingly horrible results. The film gives precise depiction of ignorant hate from fear of the unknown. If someone asked one of the principle characters why he believes jews are bad people, the answer would be "everybody knows."
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I recommend this movie.
Movie Review: Lifelike
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie relates very well to life in a high school with such prestige. This movie not only shows the tremendously strong weight of being from the "right" religion, but it also shows many other important things that come to be true of the upper class schools of the east coast. This movie contributes the importance of being a "legacy" of one of these schools and how much harder you have to work if you are not one. If you were really to attend one of these schools, you would notice that popularity and respect revolve around these so called "legacies." The social events in this movie are very similar to the real settings of these schools. The form of education is different, as well as the form of social interaction. You would not see the classes that are shown in this movie at any normal high school anywhere in the United States. This movie really demonstrates life in one of these upper class schools. I could go on forever about how good this movie is as far as being correct but there is more than that. The director managed to portray this image and have an incredible cast as well. If you are looking for great acting/actors, then obviously this movie has it. If you are looking for this movie to maybe show in a classroom then go ahead. This movie will not steer you wrong in any way at all. This movie has it all!