School Ties

640 10-1-92
This drama about Antisemitism in a New England prep school, circa 1955, has long been a pet project for producers Sherry Lansing and Stanley R. Jaffe. They've caught the period nicely and hired a vigorous young cast -- topped by Brendan Fraser (Encino Man). But good intentions go for naught as director Robert Mandel (F/X) pounds home every contrivance in the script by Darryl Ponicsan (Taps).

Fraser's David Greene (a surname shared by the Gregory Peck character in Gentleman's Agreement, the Oscar-winning 1947 film that tackled antisemitism) hides his Jewishness from the students at Saint Matthew's when he arrives on a football scholarship. He romances a WASP princess (Amy Locane) and tries to ignore the casual slurs of friends like Reece (Chris O'Donnell), Dillon (Matt Damon) and Van Kelt (Randall Batinkoff). But when his secret slips out and he's later accused of cheating. Greene takes a stand. Though the film means to stress the parallels to the current upturn in antisemitism, it merely skims its subject when it should be digging for its roots.

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(Posted: Dec 8, 2000)