Neil Perry (played by Robert Sean Leonard) is the son of a middle-class
couple who have made significant sacrifices to send their son to Welton
Academy. In this sense, he is very different from the privileged boys who
attend the school and is under pressure to create a good return on his
parents’ investment. His father is extremely strict, his mother meek and
submissive. While obedient, Neil is also passionate and energetic, and
discovers a keen interest in acting during the school year that the film
covers, which motivates him to defy his father for the first time. His death
by suicide is the climax of the film.