Indignation, Blu-ray (2016)

by | Oct 30, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

A fine filmic version of a Philip Roth novel.

Indignation, Blu-ray (2016)

Cast: Sarah Gadon, Logan Lerman, Ben Rosenfield, Noah Robbins, Tracy Letts
Studio: Lionsgate (11/8/16)
Director: James Schamus
Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, HD color 1080p
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Extras: “Timeless: Connecting the Past to the Present,” “Perceptions: Bringing Philip Roth to the Screen,” Previews
Length: 111 min.
Rating: ****

A clash of cultures based on the 2008 novel by Philip Roth. A young intense Jewish boy from New Jersey, Marcus, goes to a conservative Christian college in Ohio and becomes infatuated with a beautiful classmate, Olivia. She gives him a blow job on their first date and he isn’t quite able to handle it. She has attempted suicide earlier but he only learns of this later. Their attraction sparks encounters with consequences that were never imagined. His and his family’s plans are thrown for a loop by his relationship.

There is a very long scene of Marcus being sort of grilled by the head of the college, especially about religious freedom, which continues much longer than most such scenes. He is very staunch in defending his personal life and privacy. (His idol is philosopher Bertrand Russell.) And no cliches in the intelligent dialog either. Excellent job of acting on everyone involved in the film. There is also much on the fact that Marcus is one of only a few Jews in the college. Marcus is sort of set up inadvertently by the head of the Jewish fraternity; he arranges for a fellow student to sit thru the required chapel sessions that he hates, and gets punished for it. It takes place in the ‘50s during the Vietnam time, showing what life was like at this time. It has a sort of tragic inevitability.

—John Sunier

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