One Man Finds That the Price of Conformity is Loss of Dignity in School Ties

School Ties

dir. Robert Mandel

at Loew's Harvard Square

High school and athletics are often considered crucial factors in a young man's successful social life. It is a time in which he seeks acceptance, and football is probably the best vehicle for attaining this goal. This mix of sports and social high life appears to bode well for David Greene (Brendan Fraser), the hero of Robert Mandel's School Ties, at least at the start.

Set in the 1950's, School Ties shows us David Greene, a football player from Scranton, Pennsylvania on his way to a better life. He wins a football scholarship to St. Matthew's, a college Preparatory school in Massachusetts for the Ivy League bound.

The alumni of St. Matthew's are hungry for a football victory over their arch rivals and are willing to go to any lengths to get it, even if that means enrolling a Jew like David.

David sees playing for St. Matthew's as his ticket to Harvard and he is willing to compromise some of his values to get it. For example, he plays a big game on Rosh Hoshanna even though he promised his parents that he wouldn't. He also has to tolerate blatant anti-Semitism from his peers: He listens to their Jew jokes and even hides his star of David in a box of band-aids.

In addition to compromising his values, David is driven to completely fit in with his classmates. He wants to be just one of the guts, another preppie being groomed for greatness.

At first David soars high on the wings of his elite friends and his football victories, but he soon crashes to the harsh earth of reality. At a victory dinner, Dillon learns from a guest that David is Jewish. Soon the adulation of his peers and the admiration of his coolness quickly transforms into contempt for his religion.

David goes on the steal both the quarter back position from Charles Dillon (Matt Damon) and his girlfriend. The final confrontation between David and Dillon erupts over cheating on a history exam. It is up to the honor code and the honor of his peers to save him.

Although the film is at times predictable, School Ties evokes emotion and thought from its audience. It can make them laugh and cry. David's triumphs and defeats become the audience's.

The merit of this film lies in the actors. Brendan Fraser teaches us to respect heroes like David Greene, and by the end of the film, Matt Damon evinces our rightful hatred for bigots. Randall Batinkoff and Chris O'Donnell turn in memorable performances as van Kelt and Reece (David's loyal roommate).

School Ties is an entertaining but thoughtful film about football, high school and intolerance. It is also an essay on the nature of power. Besides making you empathize with the characters on screen, School Ties will make you think about the larger social issues involved.