Indignation

The fears and uncertainty of early 1950s America are subtly explored in this coming-of-age drama, based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Philip Roth. Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman) enrols in a small Ohio college, thereby avoiding the draft that has shipped his friends off to Korea, but the rebellious atheist soon falls foul of the only Jewish fraternity on campus, and his by-the-book dean (Tracy Letts). Sexually innocent, Marcus begins a relationship with another outsider, Olivia (Sarah Gadon), but struggles to come to terms with his new belle's history of breakdowns and suicide attempts. Screenwriter and first-time director James Schamus captures the period detail with precision, with Marcus at the coalface of the tightly wound morals of both the time and Jewish faith of his parents. Lerman, the titular star of the Percy Jackson adventures, embodies the social paranoia and repressive atmosphere of academia with a beautifully measured performance, flitting from naivety to cynicism and back again, matched in every scene by Letts's starched college head. The result is an unassuming, low-key film that tells it story with an elegant and steady hand.