School Ties
When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.
Critics Sentiment
The class votes on whether David or Charlie is the cheater
David finds a swastika and antisemitic slurs above his bed
The film drops sharply when David's identity is revealed and he faces escalating harassment, then recovers significantly during the classroom deliberation sequence.
School Ties follows a sentiment arc that builds moderately through David's initial success, crashes dramatically when his Jewish identity is exposed and he faces brutal harassment, then recovers strongly during the acclaimed classroom voting sequence. Critics consistently praised Fraser's earnest performance and the film's important message about casual prejudice, while noting pacing issues in the first half.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 22
Brendan Fraser
David Greene
Matt Damon
Charlie Dillon
Chris O'Donnell
Chris Reece
Randall Batinkoff
Rip Van Kelt
Andrew Lowery
McGivern
Cole Hauser
Jack Connors
Ben Affleck
Chesty Smith
Anthony Rapp
McGoo
Amy Locane
Sally Wheeler
Peter Donat
Headmaster Bartram
Željko Ivanek
Mr. Cleary
Kevin Tighe
Coach McDevitt
Michael Higgins
Mr. Gierasch
Ed Lauter
Alan Greene
Peter McRobbie
Chaplain
John Cunningham
Grayson Dillon
John Speredakos
Kocus
Stanton Denman
Miller
Stephen L'Heureux
Student
Elizabeth Franz
Jane Dillon
Crew
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