Movie Review - Indignation

Indignation (2016)

Starring Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Danny Burstein, and Linda Emond

Directed by James Schamus

In the fall of 1951, Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman) embarks on a new adventure, traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to Winesburg College in Ohio.  The Christian ideology promoted by the school is a big change for the Jewish youngster, but he heartily starts right in on his studies.  Soon, however, Marcus becomes distracted by the lovely and sexually promiscuous Olivia (Sarah Gadon) who he soon discovers may be a bit more than he can handle.  Then again, Marcus is very headstrong in his own way, butting heads with the college's Dead Caudwell (Tracy Letts) as the young man tries to find his way in the tumultuous era of the Korean War.

Thus is the story of Indignation, a very straightforward, yet well-acted and simplistically compelling film directed and written by James Schamus who has crafted a film that, with a few exceptions, feels like it could've been made in the decade in which it is set.  The old school aesthetic of the film is matched by its lack of showiness behind the lens.  That's not a bad thing, either.  Keeping Indignation fully focused on its story is a positive, drawing the audience in to the blossoming life of Marcus.  Nice performances from Logan Lerman and Tracy Letts (who together have a rather fascinating, long verbal tete-a-tete that proves to be a centerpiece of the film) help anchor Indignation as a film that deserves to be seen.

The RyMickey Rating:  B