Indignazione

LJ'S QUICK MOVIE REVIEW "Indignation", set in 1951, follows the story of Marcus (Logan Lerman) and his struggles with love and religion. Although his parents Jewish, Marcus is an atheist and often is at odds with his family, school, and community. However, when he meets another student named Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon), everything changes. The movie does an excellent job of portraying the challenging ethical and romantic complications Marcus has to face in his daily life. His character is extremely well- developed and well-written as he has moments of self-doubt, self-discovery, and emotional conflict. Although the movie does have moments of humor, its general tone is somber. Overall, the riveting movie's simple premise is elevated by the great chemistry between the leading actors and the immersing quality of the filmography. As Marcus tries to discover who he wants to be in life, we get a chance to reflect on who we are as well. At its heart, the movie is a captivating journey that explores its protagonist's identity and goals in a heartfelt way. LJ's Grade: B

I was on the road researching a book on Texas barbecue when I read Philip Roth's novel, Indignation. I had managed to shelve it away in my brain until I saw a movie of the same title playing at a second-run movie house near me. Could it be? Yes, it was the same story. Better than it, the sleek yet powerful prose made its way onto the screen with its integrity intact. And you know what? A crowd of about 30 of us sat rapt for 110 minutes. Nobody talked until the credits rolled, but everybody laughed at the appropriate moments and there were even a few well-placed gasps of surprise. A good story, an intelligent script and a fine cast will work that magic. Give yourself an evening to find out.

The cast is so perfect that I have to single out one performer as an example of the great work provided by all. Danny Burstein plays a father so proud of his own son and so worried by his son's future in an uncertain world marked by war that he seems to be descending into madness. The actor is harrowing to watch because you can feel all the love that burns inside of him and that he just can't bring himself to express properly. Maybe it would not be manly or maybe he doesn't know the right words or maybe he just doesn't think he needs to say anything directly. Yet we can feel his every fear, his mixture of hope and despair, his pride, his love, his frustration. Wow.

Well respected Producer James Schamus ("Brokeback Mountain", "HULK", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") leaps into the directors chair with ease and beauty, presenting a youth oriented torrid love story set against the Korean War. At the heart of the film is Marcus (Logan Lerman - "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" 2012), a young Jewish boy searching for the meaning of life, death and love. His attraction, Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon - "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"), is herself at odds with society. While the two fight for their existence, Dean Caudwell (Tracy Letts - Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of "Killer Joe" and "August: Osage County") and Marcus' mother Ester (Linda Emond) are present to question their every move. Under Schamus'superb direction, the film moves slowly and deliberately, enabling every nuance of each characters story to build with tension and angst, keeping the audience wondering if and when the characters may implode. Based on the novel by Philip Roth (which I haven't read), Schumas has written an outstanding story, featuring top rated dialogue exchanges between Marcus, Dean Caudwell and his mother. Set in 1951 Ohio, Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt and Costumes by Amy Roth enable the film to feel comfortable and familiar. Marcus' classmates Philip Ettinger and Ben Rosenfield, and his father Max (Danny Bursting), are perfect contradictions to everything Marcus believes in. "Indignation" is a grown-up film that beautifully captures youth oriented angst of family, friends, love and purpose. Don't miss this one! Award recognition is sure to follow here.

It's so good to watch a movie where the dialog is outstanding - funny heartbreaking, frustrating and meaningful. Really listen to the dialog. There are some scenes which are just so outstanding - the first meeting in the dean' office and then when the mother talks to her son about his father and then his girlfriend. The characters are not stereotypical. The Jewish protective father instead of mother is an interesting thing to watch. Although the issues are 50s issues, this is not an old fashioned or irrelevant movie. The acting is so good I only thought about the themes and message of the story later on.

Logan Lerman's sensitive face is just right for this role. The character could seem stubborn and annoying if another actor had played him, but Logan has a likability that overcomes that. Sarah Gadon as the girl he loves is fascinating to watch as the well mannered but damaged beauty. An unforgettable character. Tracy Letts as the dean plays it just right - not a caricature of conservatism but another fascinating creature to watch. Linda Emond is restrained and effective as the worried mother.

This is a serious movie with some unexpected humor in between. A must watch - one of the best dramas in recent years.

Fitting certain decades into neat little categories are repeated often enough that they have become unquestioned clichés, for example, the 50s were an age of conformity, the 60s an age of youth revolt, and the 70s the so-called "Me Generation." As in all generalizations, there is some aspect of truth even when there is a different reality that does not fit into the stereotypes. Based on the novel by Philip Roth, first-time director James Schamus' Indignation is the story of an individual who was willing to challenge prevailing attitudes. Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman) is a young Jewish intellectual brought up in a liberal environment who struggles to find his voice in an Ohio college that is a bastion of social conservatism.

Set in 1951 in Newark, N.J., tired of having to cope with the anxieties of his parents, dad Max (Danny Burstein), a kosher butcher, and mom Esther (Linda Emond) about going off to fight in the Korean War, Marcus enrolls on a scholarship to the fictional Winesburg College in Ohio, a school whose social and cultural attitudes present a hefty challenge. Marcus is intellectually precocious but socially constrained and sexually repressed and the breakout performance by Logan Lerman ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower") fully captures him in all his Rothian complexity.

The fact that he has two Jewish roommates, Bert (Ben Rosenfield) and Ron (Philip Ettinger) is of very little comfort since they are both obnoxious hypocrites. Marcus is very cautious about his social activities, declining an invitation by Sonny Cottler (Pico Alexander) to join the Jewish fraternity. When he goes on a date with Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon), an "experienced" blond-haired Gentile who shocks him by performing oral sex on him, an action in which the confused Marcus wasn't sure if he was coming or going. Overly concerned about what may have been the damage to his Cadillac LaSalle that Marcus borrowed, Ron reacts by punching his roommate in the mouth. Needless to say, this does not endear him to his dorm mates and prompts Marcus to find quieter living arrangements - by himself.

This action prompts a call from the self-righteous Dean Caudwell (Tracy Letts) to come in for an interview that takes fifteen minutes of screen time, a tour-de-farce (sic) which is both sad and funny and a master class in turning verbal sparring into an art form. While the Dean takes a welcome interest in Marcus, the interview turns into a riff on the Spanish Inquisition as the student is bombarded with questions about his application for school - why his father's occupation was listed as "butcher" rather than as "kosher butcher," why he did not put Jewish as his religious preference, why he couldn't work out his differences with his roommates, and why he has had only one date since school started. The only thing he wasn't asked is whether or not he was circumcised.

Sputtering and obsequious at first, Marcus gains strength as the interview goes on. Showing that, as Romain Rolland put it in "Jean-Christophe," he is not a sheep but a wolf that has teeth and wasn't made for the pasture, he lets the good Dean know in no uncertain terms that, as an atheist, he resents being forced to attend chapel services at least ten times a year and vigorously asserts his atheism by citing Bertrand Russell (whose character the Dean attacks), and lets the old boy know that he is his own man and that if he wants to move away from his insufferable roommates, he will do just that. Vomiting on the Dean's trophies and collapsing from the pain of an appendicitis attack was not in his plan, however, but life has a way of deciding the lessons it wants to teach.

Marcus is unwilling to let the good times roll and his relationship with Olivia takes a darker turn when he finds out that she has had a troubled past and once tried to commit suicide, though we never learn any details. Though their connection is deep and Marcus is a young man whose head is screwed on right, his continued revolt against authority and conflict with his parents does not serve him well. As philosopher Henri Bergson said, "Each step of the journey is made by following the heart instead of following the crowd and by choosing knowledge over the veils of ignorance." Though Indignation is a slow burn that keeps the lid on its emotions, it ultimately succeeds in moving us deeply. Much more than another corporate product with an uplifting message to make sure that waterworks turn into greenbacks, it is a sincere and heartfelt film that illuminates the struggle against a suffocating conformity, a struggle that is just as relevant today as it was in 1950.