"INDIGNATION" from Philip Roth's Novel is Adapted to Film with Excellence

Philip Roth (b. Amer 1933) is one of the most prolific and highly honored living writers.  He's won the Pulitzer ("American Pastoral" '97) and receivied the Nat'l Bk Award twice for ("Goodbye Colombus" '59) & ("Everyman" '06.)  His laurels are immense but his subject matter tends to a more narrow focus on Jewish assimilation, aging and anti-semitism.  It's unjust to encapsulate Roth's immeasurable genius, but "Indignation" is about a young Jewish college student finding his way amidst a mid-west Univ where the Jewish student body is both minimal & put uopn to conform to Christian proseltyzing as a pre-requisite to graduate.  Set in 1951 during the Korean War when our young men were being drafted & killed overseas (1950-53) unless, given a 4-F or collegiate deferment.  Marcus, our protagonist, has been granted a college scholarship by his synagogue and matriculates in 1951.  He is the only child of a NJ couple whose livelihood stems from a kosher butcher shop. Their aspirations are cut out for a better life (& protection from the draft.) The pressure is piled heavily on their son.  Marcus is a gifted student, hardworking and a little coddled from the real world.  He gets a real awakening at the OH Univ where he is assigned 2 other Jewish roommates, a mandatory job and a hard case of lust for the beautiful, blonde Olivia.  Besides not being like any of the other girls in NJ (and being gentile) Olivia is bumptious in her sexual advances towards Marcus.  The moral dilemmas Roth wants his hero to grapple with are rather tame as is Marcus' polite, demure demeanor.  Until he is provoked to anger at what he (rightly) perceives as unfair treatment by the dean of the college.  The dean is played with perverse perfection by Pulitz Prize winning playwright ("Osage County" '08) and Tony winning actor Tracy Letts.  The confrontational scenes between Letts & Marcus, (Logan Lerman "Perks of Being a Wallflower" '12) are reason alone to see this arousing film.  Letts will be adding an Oscar nom. to his honors for his role.  Roth should be ecstatic with this adaption of his novel bringing it to the big screen with incredible skill, intelligence and excellent casting.   All the little decisions that went into making "INDIGNATION" add up to an exceptionally smart film.