‘Indignation’ on Blu-ray

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

Philip Roth’s acclaimed best-selling novels have been turned into several films, including Goodbye Columbus and Portnoy’s Complaint. Now Indignation goes from the printed page to the screen with Logan Lerman leading the cast. This young man deserves accolades for his performance as he carries the show – practically every scene.

The setting is the early 1950s when the Korean War was being waged and young American men were being sent to fight and die over there. Marcus is a straight-A student and receives a scholarship to a college Ohio, quite a way from his New Jersey home. He has dreams of being an attorney and someday arguing before the Supreme Court. As a college student he is deferred from the military.

So, this young naïve Jewish boy heads out to this new life where he encounters plenty of instances that are new to him, including one very troubled but sexually experienced young woman. Olivia (Sarah Gadon) has a troubled past and plenty of emotional baggage.
Marcus buckles down to his studies and his campus job in the library. But Olivia steals his attention and he decides to ask her out. Meeting her was the thing that brought down his house of cards. He was doing all right and on his way to carry out his dreams. But young love got in the way and everything changed after their first date.

Roth’s other novels mentioned earlier also deal with young Jewish men on the brink of life. Each one of his central characters has emotional difficulties of one kind or another. They are definitely flawed to the point of life changing decisions.

While Indignation garnered praise from critics everywhere, it is definitely not a film mainstream viewers will get into. It’s slow moving, depressing, and very deep. If this kind of intense drama is something you enjoy, then this is a film you should check out.

Bonus features on the Blu-ray include a look at the characters and the actors as well as the screenwriter, James Schamus. There is also a look at the novelist and his films. The novel was released in 2008. His past novels include “Deception,” “American Pastoral,” “The Human Stain,” and “Everyman.”

Indignation is a coming of age story dealing with life in the early 1950s when sex was considered indecent. It involves flawed characters with mixed emotions and plenty of personal dramas. Lerman is in almost every scene and his talent is the only thing that takes this story from beginning to end. It’s deep, depressing, yet has something that keeps viewers interested instead of turning it off. What? I don’t know.

This is not for everyone but fans of Roth will be entertained by this production of his novel.

Indignation is rated R for sexual content and some language.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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