‘I’ll honour your tradition. I’ll go to the Headmaster and I’ll lie…’
In an era where Eat the Rich movies have never been more popular in Hollywood, it’s odd to remember a time when you could set a film in a privileged boarding school and make all the characters white men, and everyone would cheer along. In some ways, it’s quite nice. It forces you to interact with the characters as individuals rather than symbols, and that can only make for a more enjoyable experience…
School Ties presents us with David Greene (Brendan Fraser), a working-class Jewish student who a prestigious Massachusetts prep school recruits to play quarterback for the school football team. Upon arrival, he teams up with actual Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (both of whom were appearing in their first film roles proper) before facing a reckoning about his class and religion.
School Ties is basically Dead Poet’s Society but without any inspirational adults around. Instead, director Robert Mandel trusts his young but talented cast to elevate the material and that is mostly what happens. While Affleck doesn’t make much of an impression here, Fraser and Damon arrive as fully formed movie stars. Watching their respective performances here confirms that they could never possibly have done anything else with their lives. The pair exude star presence and all the best moments come in their interactions with each other.
While the message of inclusivity and acceptance seems a little trite now, the performances are so good that it’s impossible not to get swept up in it all. It’s perhaps understandable the film was a box office flop, nothing much happens really in terms of plot, but returning to it now with the context of knowing what this young cast will go on to achieve is a thoroughly enjoyable experience – a forgotten ’90s gem.
