ShangLuda Admirable film.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

pniemeyer-47222 I've never read any Philip Roth, but if this film is any indicator, his work may be difficult to translate to the screen. The drama in this film is very introverted. It deals with a Jewish teenager (Logan Lerman) from New Jersey who attends a liberal arts college in Ohio, becomes infatuated with a fellow student (Sarah Gadon), and finds himself beset by the various social pressures that might affect someone in his position. Some scenes work very well (an argument between Lerman and his dean, played by playwright Tracy Letts, is proof that a verbal argument can be every bit as tense as a shootout), but on the whole, the film has a staid, overly formal quality to it.Some of that is the dialogue. I'm guessing much of it is taken intact from the novel, because it sounds too "written" when said aloud. I understand that these characters are smart, well-spoken people, but even so, there are some scenes where it feels as if we are listening to the screenwriter rather than the characters. The direction, too, has a very restrained quality, as first-time writer-director James Schamus shoots some of the dialogue in static medium shots that few contemporary directors would use. One one hand, I admire him for not falling prey to the quick-cutting style that so many modern films employ. At the same time, this film feels a little cold.The actors, for their part, do well. Logan Lerman, who was excellent in "Noah", proves yet again that he is capable of conveying just as much through facial expressions and reaction shots as through speech. Some of the supporting actors don't fare as well. Perhaps that could be the writing.I can't really give this film a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down. If you are a fan of Roth's or find the idea of Jewish-born sexually active atheist railing against a society that teaches him that he should repress his true feelings, then check this film out. It's sad, contemplative, and, in its own understated way, beautiful.

svonsawilski Social Sanction is a reality in our postmodern multicultural context. Daily people are asked to assimilate and in their best interest it would be easier for everyone if they found a way to do that without being compromised. Asking someone to assimilate should never be this brash a process and people need to be able to find their maturity without being patronized to the point of hospitalization. A comment was made in the behind the scenes script, 'a life and death scene' and the film itself expounds that wonderfully. A point presented with sophistication and clarity, enjoyed it from the first moment to the last.

gatkins-84849 all good the ending complete garbage OK they want more its crap its so dark and it,.... this move is so bad so bad and so bad so i will keep on and on till i get to five lines there are some movies who doesn't deserve five lines i wonder nobody comments anymore or bothers i just look up the basics of movie wikipedia has better ..ok got my five lines

djwalls_32 Honestly, i hardly write reviews, and i do watch a lot of movies because i have a lot of time in the winter. You know when you don't know what to watch because neither the title or the synopsis etc.. doesn't really attract you too much and in the end you pick one and thing OK lets give this one a chance? Soooo happy i picked this one yesterday night and watched it. This is a really clever and entertaining movie, fantastic dialogues, I'm Spanish and watched this in English with subtitles and was amazed at some of the conversations, its a sweet movie, realistic, romantic, entertaining.... trust me, watch it, you will not be disappointed.