Based on the novel by Philip Roth, Indignation is the story of a Jewish student who begins a relationship with a mentally ill student at a small Ohio college as he also spars with its dean over religion and individuality in the life of academics. Written for the screen and directed by James Schamus, the film is a period drama of sorts set in the 1950s as it revolves around morality as a young man copes with his faith and his own sexual awakening. Starring Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Linda Edmond, Ben Rosenfield, Danny Burstein, Pico Alexander, and Tracy Letts. Indignation is a riveting and compelling film from James Schamus.
Set in 1951 at a college in Ohio, the film follows a Jewish student who arrives as a freshman where he meets a beautiful student as they would have a strange sexual moment that would later get the two into some trouble involving gossip as he gets the attention of the school’s dean. The film is a complex story in which a young man with strong views on the world as he prefers to keep things to himself as he deals with the expectations he’s laid upon from his parents as well as the faculty until a date with this young woman would change things. James Schamus’ screenplay opens and ends with this old woman at a hospital staring at the wall as it then goes into a scene during the Korean War where a North Korean soldier fights with an American. It would then cut into a funeral service that the film’s protagonist Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman) attends for someone who was killed at the war as he copes with his father (Danny Burstein) who has been acting erratic lately as well as the need to socialize with other Jewish students despite the fact that he’s an Atheist.
When he meets Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon) at a history class and asks her out, he is unaware of what kind of person she is as she would give him a blow job inside a car as their relationship would be awkward until Marcus wonders about Olivia’s frequent absences at school. Especially as he learns about the fact that she’s had a history of mental illness and an undeserved reputation for being loose which gets him upset as he would lash out at his roommates and eventually move into his own room at another dorm. This would get the attention of the school’s dean Hawes D. Caudwell (Tracy Letts) who would ask a lot of questions that would annoy Marcus and his own beliefs including having to attend chapel forty times during his entire time at the school as requirement to graduate. It is a key moment in the story as it shows the expectations laid upon Marcus, Olivia, and other students in what they had to do in order to move forward as a society yet Marcus and Olivia have a hard time sticking to those ideals which has the former be outspoken and the latter coming apart.
Schamus’ direction is quite straightforward yet does contain some very entrancing compositions in the way he looks at college life in the 1950s where it’s a world that is quite square in its surroundings. Shot on location around various parts of New York City, the film does play into this look that is quite idyllic for the look of the college as well as Schamus’ precise framing into every image including the scenes at the chapel where a speaker tries to instill Christian ideals into the students including non-Christians. The usage of wide and medium shots play into this institution that may seem like idyllic but also quite stifling which is definitely what Schamus is doing while he also uses close-ups for the characters including Marcus who narrates the film via voiceover. There are a few scenes outside of the college as it relates to the working-class Jewish community that Marcus live in as it has a similar presentation visually but it’s a grimy world that includes the butcher shop that Marcus’ father runs.
The sexual content in the film is actually very tame since Schamus doesn’t show anything at all but rather Marcus’ own reaction to getting a blowjob from Olivia as well as her visits at the hospital during the second half of the film. Schamus’ approach to the drama is very simple yet he would also maintain some ambiguity as it relates to Olivia where he only display a few things about her with the exception of a flashback sequence relating to her mental history. The third act isn’t just about Marcus and Olivia’s relationship which is considered taboo given Marcus’ own idealism and Olivia’s reputation as well as the fact that they both come from different social circles. It also play into this growing decline of the ideas and demands of conformity at the college as it would play into Marcus’ growing disdain for everything Dean Caudwell stands for. Overall, Schamus creates a provocative yet haunting film about a young man’s relationship with a troubled young woman at a college in the early 1950s.
Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lighting for some of the interiors at night as it play into this idyllic of 1950s society with the only scene of brightness is in the hospital scenes. Editor Andrew Marcus does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward in terms of the cutting as it strays from anything stylized. Production designer Inbal Weinberg, with set decorator Philippa Culpepper and art director Derek Wang, does amazing work with the look of the college dorms and classrooms as well as Marcus’ hospital room and the butcher shop that his father owns.
Costume designer Amy Roth does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of what students wore during that time including the dresses that Olivia wore. Sound editor Lewis Goldstein is terrific from the way a record sounds inside Marcus’ dorm to some of the low-key yet raucous moments at the campus as well as the tense scenes inside the chapel. The film’s music by Jay Wadley is superb for its orchestral-based score that is also low-key in its string arrangements as it help play into the somber tones of the film while the soundtrack features music of the times including the folk and pop music of the times.
The casting by Avy Kaufman is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Sue Dahlman as this old woman at the film’s beginning and ending, Noah Robbins as a Jewish fraternity brother who would help Marcus deal with appearing at chapel, Philip Ettinger as a roommate of Marcus early in the film who would lend Marcus his car for his date with Olivia, Ben Rosenfield as another of Marcus’ roommate earlier in the film whose fondness for loud records and Shakespeare would annoy Marcus, and Pico Alexander as Jewish fraternity president who would try to invite Marcus to the fraternity as he’s a mutual friend of Marcus’ family. Danny Burstein is superb as Marcus’ father Max who starts to behave erratically as he believes something bad is going to happen where he would eventually lash out at those around him. Linda Emond is excellent as Marcus’ mother Esther as a woman who has been very supportive of Marcus as she would visit him at the hospital while getting to meet Olivia which would worry her.
Tracy Letts is brilliant as Dean Caudwell as the college dean who is eager to instill his own rule and ideals into the college that he runs as he finds himself challenged by Marcus where Letts’ performance is quite unusual in its restraint as he comes off more as a man who seems concerned and intrigued but it’s just a cover for someone who is really quite dark. Sarah Gadon is amazing as Olivia Hutton as a young woman from an upper-class family that is sexually-experienced yet is also quite off as someone who is also very fragile as she doesn’t want to reveal much about herself to Marcus. Finally, there’s Logan Lerman in a remarkable performance as Marcus Messner as this young Jewish freshman that is an Atheist who isn’t eager to fit in with the rest of the campus in order to focus on his studies only to find himself challenged by Dean Caudwell and find someone he is intrigued by in Olivia as it’s a very complex performance from Lerman who has this defiance but also weariness to someone trying to find his place in the world.
Indignation is an incredible film from James Schamus that features phenomenal performances from Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, and Tracy Letts. Along with its gorgeous visuals and compelling themes on individualism during the early 1950s, it’s a film that explores a young man dealing with the expectations of society where he finds solace in a troubled young woman. In the end, Indignation is a sensational film from James Schamus.
© thevoid99 2017
Written and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland, Song One is the story of an anthropologist who returns home after her brother becomes comatose from an accident as she uses the music of his favorite singer to try and revive him. The film is a drama where a woman tries to patch things up with her brother while meeting the musician he admired. Starring Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Ben Rosenfield, and Mary Steenburgen. Song One is a lively and compelling film from Kate Barker-Froyland.
The film is a simple story of an anthropologist who returns from Morocco after learning her estranged brother has been hit accidentally by a car as he’s become a comatose. Trying to find ways to revive her brother, the woman learns about his favorite singer as she attends his show where she would meet him as he would later take part in trying to revive the woman’s brother. The film’s screenplay by Kate Barker-Froyland doesn’t have a lot of surprises in terms of plotting but it does create characters that are interesting as well as not being afraid of being flawed. The film’s protagonist Franny (Anne Hathaway) is someone who is often used to have things in control until she learns that her brother Henry (Ben Rosenfield) is in a coma as she blames herself for not contacting him due to a fight. Going through his journals and opening up videos he sent that she never saw, she would embark on a journey to not only understand more about her brother but also the musician he idolizes in James Forester (Johnny Flynn).
Barker-Froyland’s direction is definitely very simple as it play into the world of folk music bars and such that Franny would encounter. Shot largely on location in Brooklyn, New York with some of it shot on Morocco, the film plays into a woman trying to learn about the world that her brother seems to be drawn into as well as want to be part of. While there are some wide shots, Barker-Froyland would favor more intimate compositions with the usage of the medium shots and close-ups to play into the drama. Barker-Froyland would create a looseness to the musical performances while creating moments that are just low-key and to the point. Even as it wouldn’t be overly-dramatic where Barker-Froyland would just maintain something that is real and natural which include some tense moments between Franny and her mother Karen (Mary Steenburgen). Still, it is about a woman trying to reconnect with her brother through music as well as find out much about herself and the man her brother idolizes. Overall, Barker-Froyland creates an engaging though formulaic film about a woman trying to revive her brother through music.
Cinematographer John Guleserian does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the way many of the interior/exterior shots of New York City looks at night to some of the naturalistic look of the scenes set in Morocco. Editor Madeleine Gavin does nice work with the editing as it is quite straightforward while including some stylish jump-cuts to play with the conventions of the drama. Production designer Jade Healy, with set decorator Brandon Tonner-Connolly and art director Anne Goelz, does terrific work with the set pieces from the hospital room where Henry slept at as well as the home that Karen lived in. Costume designer Emma Potter does wonderful work with the costumes as it is mostly casual that play into the look of hipster New York City.
Sound mixers Hicham Amedras and Jeff Pullman do superb work with the sound to play into the natural elements of the sound in the many locations including some of the music clubs. The film’s music by Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice, with additional music by Nate Walcott, is brilliant for its mixture of folk and indie music while music supervisors Eric Craig and Brian McNelis create a soundtrack that does play into the indie-folk scene with some music from Morocco as well as contributions from Dan Deacon, America, Sharon Van Etten, and Nina Simone.
The casting by Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey is marvelous as it feature some notable small appearances from Lola Kirke as a performer and Sarah Steele as a fan who asks James to sign her iPod. Ben Rosenfield is superb as Henry as Franny’s younger brother who wants to be a musician only to become comatose following an accident where he spends much of the film lying in bed. Johnny Flynn is terrific as James Forester as a popular indie-folk musician that Franny would discover and meet as he learns about Henry and helps Franny while dealing with his own issues in his career. Mary Steenburgen is amazing as Karen as Franny and Henry’s mother who is coping with the latter’s accident and coma while wondering if she had been a good mother as well as deal with Franny on some unresolved issues. Finally, there’s Anne Hathaway in a remarkable performance as Franny where she plays this woman who feels guilty for what happened to her brother as she is desperate to wake him up where it’s Hathaway displaying some humility and restraint as well as bits of charm as it’s one of her finer performances.
Song One is a stellar film from Kate Barker-Froyland that features an excellent performance from Anne Hathaway. Along with a superb cast and a nice film soundtrack, it is a film that maybe formulaic and doesn’t do anything new but it at least has characters that are compelling enough to be invested in. In the end, Song One is a very good film from Kate Barker-Froyland.
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Daniel Algrant and written by Algrant, Emma Sheanshang, and David Brendal, Greetings from Tim Buckley is the story of a 1991 tribute concert for the cult folk singer as one of those who would attend and perform at the concert is his son Jeff. The film is a dramatic account into Jeff Buckley’s legendary 1991 performance as he would cope with the legacy of the man he never knew as Penn Badgley plays Jeff and Ben Rosenfield stars as Jeff’s father Tim. Also starring Imogen Poots and William Sadler. Greetings from Tim Buckley is a somber yet exhilarating film from Daniel Algrant.
The film revolves around the 1991 tribute concert to the folk singer Tim Buckley in which his son Jeff would make a public debut that would eventually be a springboard of sorts for his own career. While the concert is partially-dramatized, the film is mostly about the weekend leading up to this concert where Jeff Buckley not only copes with the legacy of his father but also the fact that he never really knew his father as he only met him twice in his lifetime. It is essentially a dramatic account about what Jeff Buckley must’ve been going through in the days leading up to this tribute concert for his father. The script also has this paralleling storyline which revolves around Tim Buckley trying to make it in the folk music scene as he is sleeping around with women while getting messages from people who knew his first wife that his son is about to born.
Though the narrative is a bit uneven at times, it does play into Jeff’s struggle over his father as he is surrounded by people who aren’t just fans of his work but also the few that actually knew Tim. One of the people that Jeff meets is a young woman named Allie (Imogen Poots) who is a fan of her father’s work as she would spend time with Jeff as they would go to places including the town and home where his father lived as a boy. All of which plays into Jeff not only trying to know who his father is but also to try and comprehend into why he wasn’t there and had died at such a young age without much to show for other than his music.
Daniel Algrant’s direction is quite simple in terms of the compositions that are created as the concert is shot on the actual location where it took place which is St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn as it would be the film’s centerpiece. Much of it is shot on location in New York City with some shots set in California as well as upstate New York as it plays into Jeff’s journey to find out more about his father. There’s a few wide shots as Algrant aims for something that is more realistic and intimate that includes a key scene where Jeff and Gary Lucas (Frank Wood), jam as they would eventually create something that would become one of Jeff’s songs. The concert sequence is presented with some wide and medium shots plus a few close-ups and hand-held camera moments as it would feature a recreation of Jeff singing Once I Was by his father as it’s one of the film’s most chilling moments. Overall, Algrant creates a very engaging yet compelling film about Jeff Buckley’s journey into knowing and paying tribute to a man he never knew.
Cinematographer Andrij Parekh does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it‘s very straightforward for much of the daytime exterior scenes while using some stylish lights and moods for the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Bill Pankow does nice work with the editing as it‘s quite straightforward with some jump-cuts and montages to play into Jeff struggling with the memory of his father. Production designer John Paino and set decorator Robert Covelman do superb work with the look of the clubs that Tim played as well as some of the decorations and stage setting for the film’s climatic concert.
Costume designer David C. Robinson does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual to play up the early 90s look as well as the look for some of the characters in the Tim Buckley sequences. Sound editor Dave Paterson does brilliant work with the sound from the way instruments sound during rehearsal as well as the atmosphere of the concert itself. The film’s music largely consists of songs by Tim Buckley that includes his own originals as well as performances of his songs that include vocal performances by Kate Nash, Frankie Bello of the seminal thrash-metal band Anthrax, and Penn Badgley in their respective roles plus a couple of covers of Jeff’s songs sung by Badgley as well as a few folk-based score pieces by Gary Lucas.
The casting by Avy Kaufman is amazing as it features appearances from Frankie Bello as punk-rock legend Richard Hell, Frank Wood as the musician Gary Lucas who would become a future collaborator of Jeff’s, Norbert Leo Butz as the concert organizer Hal Wilner, Kate Nash as one of the concert’s performers in Carol, Jennifer Turner and Jann Close as a couple of concert performers, Jessica Stone as one of Tim’s lovers in Janine, and William Sadler as the famed folk musician Lee Underwood who actually knew Tim as he tries to tell Jeff some things about his father. Ben Rosenfield is excellent as Tim Buckley as the folk musician in his early years as he tries to make it as he copes with the idea that he’s becoming a father.
Imogen Poots is brilliant as Allie as a young woman who is a fan of Tim’s music as she gets to know Jeff as she tries to understand his feelings towards his father. Finally, there’s Penn Badgley in an incredible performance as the late Jeff Buckley as a young man trying to cope with the father he never really knew as well as trying to pay tribute to him in a concert as Badgley has an amazing singing voice as he definitely captures the wailing falsetto of Jeff without trying to imitate it.
Greetings from Tim Buckley is an excellent film from Daniel Algrant that features a phenomenal performance from Penn Badgley. Along with a superb supporting performance from Imogen Poots and a killer music soundtrack, the film isn’t just a compelling piece about a moment in time that would be a catalyst for Jeff Buckley’s brief but celebrated career but also into the music of his father Tim. In the end, Greetings from Tim Buckley is a marvelous film from Daniel Algrant.
© thevoid99 2015
