SCHOOL TIES (1992)

             Cowards die many times before their deaths;
                the valiant never taste of death but once.

                                                              -Shakespeare
                                    

                                          

In  1991, Brendan began working on his first film in which he had a leading role.

He played David Greene,

a Jewish teen with a working class background who is offered a football scholarship at an exclusive Massachusetts prep school, where he meets fellow students and teammates.

 The film, set in the post WWII 1950's, examines being a fish out of water in a mostly antisemitic institution proud of it's code of honor while behaving dishonorably towards those who are "different" .

Made aware of his school mates antisemitic views, David hides the truth,becomes the star quarterback of the football team ,falls for a pretty debutante named Sally Wheeler (Amy Locane),and wins the approval of his coach and the headmaster.

Already jealous of Sally's obvious attraction to David, Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon) discovers that David is Jewish and uses that knowledge to try to turn everyone, including Sally, against him. Only his roommate Chris Reece (Chris O'Donnell) and another student remain loyal to David.

Under pressure from his family to succeed academically, Dillon cheats on an important examination.  David and Rip Van Pelt, the class prefect (Randall Batinkoff) witness his behavior but remain silent. When Dillon drops the paper he used for cheating, Mr. Geirasch  (Michael Higgins) charges the class with finding out who the cheater was. Not surprisingly, Dillon tries to convince everyone that it was David.

The film was shot in only fifty-eight days mostly at the Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts but Worcester Academy, St. Mark's School, Lawrence Academy and Groton School, both in Groton, Mass. were also used to portray St, Matthews. Filming was also done in other areas  of Massachusetts. To establish David's blue-collar roots, filming took place in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and at the Jeddo Coal Mines in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. 

Shooting at the coal mine was especially dramatic for Brendan because "my grandfather was a coal miner in Nova Scotia. To see an actual working coal mine was fascinating. You can't imagine it until you're there and you experience it. Shooting there really centered me." 

Directed by Robert Mandel from a Screenplay by Darryl Ponicsan and Dick Wolf ( who would later create the series Law and Order and it's spinoffs), Story by Dick Wolf based on his own personal experiences.

Ann Roth designed the costumes for the film and is another favorite memory for Brendan.

" I remember standing around in my underpants (in the wardrobe trailer) and she'd say 'Here, try this on! No, I didn't like that. Here ! Try this gorgeous jacket; it speaks to me. It tells the story of David'. Ann was wonderful...she's a legend. They'll name a building after her in Hollywood. If they haven't already." 

They haven't (yet) but Miss Roth at eighty-five years young, and still active as of this writing, is an Oscar, Tony, and Bafta- winning Costume Designer for Film and Stage and has been nominated innumerable times for every costuming award possible. She has worked most often with Directors Mike Nichols, Sidney Lumet, and John Schlesinger as well as countless others and has dressed stars Meryl Streep, Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, Dustin Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Kate Winslet, to name but a few.

"I remember something from almost every single production day. Since then, I've had a blur of a career. I've had highs and lows. But that movie was really my training ground." - Brendan Fraser