"Indignation" creates feel of unease beneath orderly "50s surface ...

James Schamus and Logan Lerman On "Indignation" | AOL BUILD

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JCC Greenwich is presenting a sneak-preview of the film "Indignation" at 7 p.m. July 12 at the Greenwich Bow-Tie Criterion Cinemas, 2 Railroad Ave. The special screening will includea Q&A with James Schamus about his first effort in the director"s chair after a whizzy career as screenwriter, producer, industry suit and Columbia prof. Tickets can be reserved at jccgreenwich.org. less JCC Greenwich is presenting a sneak-preview of the film "Indignation" at 7 p.m. July 12 at the Greenwich Bow-Tie Criterion Cinemas, 2 Railroad Ave. The special screening will includea Q&A with James Schamus ... more Photo: Contributed, Contributed Photo

Indignation creates feel of unease beneath orderly 50s surface

In his first feature film as writer-director, James Schamus does something elusive and perhaps difficult even to describe. He creates a pervasive atmosphere of something not so unsettling or definable as dread, but rather something more vague and even ignorable if you choose to ignore it: unease. Theres a feeling here that something is unsafe, or could go wrong. Theres a feeling here of being a stranger at the party.

Based on the novel of the same name by Philip Roth, Indignation takes place mostly in 1951 and tells the story of a Jewish kid from Newark, N.J., who goes away to school at a small, traditional college in Ohio.

This sounds like the premise for a heartwarming coming-of-age story, but the energy here is more sober. Already, as the film opens, one of the young mans friends is dead because he didnt go to college and therefore didnt get to defer his military service in Korea. One of the first scenes is of Marcus (Logan Lerman) attending the friends funeral.

A sense pervades not of a hostile world but of a careless one, in which fatal things can happen randomly or stupidly or for causes that dont become obvious until theyre inescapable. Marcus father (Danny Burstein), a butcher, is the character that most embodies this underlying atmosphere. In midlife, he has suddenly become neurotic with anxiety and dread, either because hes on the verge of a nervous breakdown or because he has developed a sixth sense about the true nature of things.

When Marcus escapes from Newark and goes to college, the screen is filled with sunshine and the atmosphere seems to lift, but not completely. There are other Jews at the college, but they travel in defined circles theres a Jewish fraternity, for example and everyone, regardless of religion, is expected to attend Christian church services at least 10 times each year. Other Jews on campus are willing to roll with it, but Marcus, who likes to keep to himself, is placid only on the surface. When pressed, he has a decided tendency toward indignation.

There are several standout scenes in Indignation, but one particularly memorable one is between Marcus and Dean Caudwell, the head of the university. The dean is played by Tracy Letts, the anarchic playwright (Killer Joe, August: Osage County), who specializes in playing narrow company men, authoritarians, in the movies and on television.

The dean here is a variation on the familiar Letts type: not really a bad guy, but rather someone easy enough to circumvent or appease. Yet, as brilliantly played by Lerman, theres something in Marcus that makes him unable and unwilling to connect with this man. Watching their first scene together is an uncomfortable and fascinating experience, as well as a great duet between two actors.

Of course, Marcus meets a girl. Her name is Olivia, and she is played by Sarah Gadon, who, in the pleated skirts and prim blouses created by costume designer Amy Roth, looks like the platonic ideal of a young college woman circa 1950. But like the 50s themselves, Olivia is much more troubled and complicated than she appears. Gadon is really rather wonderful in this film, plaintive and haunting, with all her nerve endings raw.

Indignation is haunting as well. Its hard to file it away. Instead, the story and treatment keep inviting us to circle back to it and wonder what the characters might have done here or should have done there. Like the best wines and the best films, theres a complexity to the finish, so that it reverberates with meanings beyond the obvious. Indignation has the disconcerting quality of truth and is an altogether adult piece of work.

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle

Indignation

Starring Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon. Directed by James Schamus. (R. 110 minutes.)

To see a trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELKsrUssyQE

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Roth-s-Indignation-an-interesting-moody-9066391.php