"Indignation" adapts Phillip Roth's 2008 novel and touches a lot of the themes of "Goodbye Columbus" trading comedy for serious drama. Logan Lerman plays Marcus Messner, determined to leave his family's Newark, New Jersey butcher shop and make his way in the world as a lawyer. Landing in a small Ohio college in 1951, Lerman buckles down until he glimpses the blonde goddess Olivia played by Sarah Gadon. She initiates the kind of sex Marcus never knew, and both frightens & dazzles him. She also brings out his deepest anxieties. Pressure from home takes a toll, including a father who constantly mentions the possibility of "one little mistake" unraveling a life. A meeting with the college Dean turns into a debate ending with the Dean musing what a great lawyer Messner will make some day. This memorable scenes makes "Indignation" worth watching, even though it feels more like a play than a film. "Indignation" has plenty of surprises, including a bout of appendicitis which lands Marcus in the hospital and brings his family back into his orbit. "Indignation" builds to a knockout punch so strong, I stayed in the theater until the lights came up. Does it deliver what it promises? 1950's coming-of-age drama. Is it entertaining? Some wonderful scenes. Is it worth the price of admission? A grown-up movie.
