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School Ties

School Ties

Drama · 1992

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.

Movie details

School Ties

“Just because you’re accepted doesn’t mean you belong.”

1992 Drama 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over School Ties?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Mandel

Written by

Dick Wolf · Darryl Ponicsan

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser

David Greene

Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Charlie Dillon

Chris O'Donnell

Chris O'Donnell

Chris Reece

Randall Batinkoff

Randall Batinkoff

Rip Van Kelt

Andrew Lowery

Andrew Lowery

McGivern

Cole Hauser

Cole Hauser

Jack Connors

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck

Chesty Smith

Court is in session

Put School Ties on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.