Indignation

Set in 1951, this coming-of-age story adapted from Philip Roth's 2008 novel revolves around industrious Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman), a working-class Jewish teenager from Newark, NJ, who earns a scholarship to a small, Christian college in Ohio, with an aim of avoiding being drafted and sent to fight in the Korean War. The only son of a kosher butcher (Danny Burstein) and his formidable wife (Linda Emond), neurotic Marcus immediately resents being forced to share a dorm room with two other minority/Jewish students and he refuses to join the only Jewish fraternity. Marcus is also totally bewildered by the casual sexual promiscuity of his WASP-y crush, the self-destructive Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon). The most volatile—and memorable—scene occurs when resolute and rebellious Marcus confronts Winesburg College's domineering Dean Caudwell (Tracy Letts) about the latter's pervasive, condescending anti-Semitism. While director James Schamus effectively illustrates his young adult protagonist's exploration of the social paranoia of the post-WWII Jewish experience, Indignation lacks intensity, adhering to a perhaps overly-cautious rhythm. Ultimately, however, the film serves as a tragic reminder of the consequences of America's once-prevalent, puritanical moral conformity. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “Perceptions: Bringing Philip Roth to the Screen” (7 min.), “Timeless: Connecting the Past to the Present” (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for an uneven adaptation of Roth's novel.] (S. Granger)