The genius of Roth

James Schamus with Indignation's Linda Emond Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Partners on Broadway in Cabaret, starring Michelle Williams and Alan Cumming, together in Jason Bateman's The Family Fang with Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett and Nicole Kidman, Linda Emond and Danny Burstein this time are parents to Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman) in James Schamus's adaptation of Philip Roth's Indignation with Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Ben Rosenfield, Pico Alexander, Noah Robbins and Philip Ettinger.

Linda Emond starred opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mike Nichols’ production of Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman and may be seen in Terrence Malick's Weightless with Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Val Kilmer, Benicio Del Toro, and Michael Fassbender.

Danny Burstein: "My dad was a protégé of Philip Roth." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

“If I did everything right, I could justify to my father the expense of my being at college in Ohio rather than in Newark. I could justify to my mother her having to work full time in the store again.”, argues Philip Roth's hero. Indignation is the story of Marcus, son of a butcher from New Jersey, who, with the help of a scholarship, attempts to avoid being drafted during the Korean War. His parents are sick from worry, as the number of funerals increases for the boys in their neighborhood.

Six-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein spoke with me on the Museum of Modern Art red carpet. He is currently starring in Fiddler On The Roof on Broadway.

Anne-Katrin Titze: So you gave a first-time director a chance? Let’s give it a try?

Danny Burstein (laughing): Let’s give this kid a shot! Actually, James asked me to be a part of the film. He called me and he said “I’d love you to read the script because I think you’d be right for it. I hope you like it, let’s take it from there.” I read the script and thought it was one of the most beautiful scripts I ever read.

AKT: And you read it, having in mind that you would be the butcher?

DB: That I would play the father, yeah, the butcher. It was such a heartfelt character that I understood. You know, because I have two sons of my own. I understood how he could be so obsessed and worried with fear about losing his own son, his only son.

Linda Emond: "Michelle, do you think Olympia Le-Tan might have a Philip Roth novel?" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

AKT: It’s very strong to start your very first film with a funeral.

DB: Yeah, it’s very bold. And he is a beautiful director and his writing is magnificent, to say the least. I think he is one of our greatest writers ever.

AKT: How familiar were you with Philip Roth?

DB: My dad was a protégé of Philip Roth. My dad studied with Philip Roth at the University of Iowa in their Masters’ program for writers. So he was spoken of and we read him all through my childhood. He was spoken of reverentially.

AKT: And this particular novel, Indignation, a late one of his, had you read it?

DB: Actually, no. I hadn’t read it before. I read it after I’d stopped filming. I didn’t want it to interfere.

AKT: Any surprises? Any changes James Schamus made that you took note of?

DB: I thought that James adapted it beautifully. In a novel, obviously, there is so much. Little colours and emotions, the blink of an eye you can obsess over. In this case, I thought James streamlined it beautifully and bookended it with the scenes.

AKT: Which is particularly tricky in this case - what do you give away, what do you not give away.

DB: I don’t know how anybody does it. James did a beautiful job.

Yale Bowl highlighted at the Indignation Yale Club party Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

AKT: And you did a beautiful job, too.

DB: Thank you.

I caught up with Linda Emond at the Yale Club and we first talked about her eye-catching purse and then about Indignation. She gives a terrific torpedo of a performance as a mother who sees too much and takes irreversible action.

Anne-Katrin Titze: I love your clutch.

Linda Emond: It's Olympia Le-Tan, she is a purse maker. This is a sample.

AKT: I am familiar with Olympia Le-Tan. Her purses are often book covers.

LE: I actually contacted them via my friend Michelle Williams who often carries these. I said "Michelle, do you think Olympia Le-Tan might have a Philip Roth novel?" And she checked for me. Because, wouldn't that be great? They did at one time but it doesn't exist anymore. I was broken-hearted.

AKT: Which one was it?

LE: I don't know. They didn't even remember which. But wouldn't that have been fantastic if I were carrying a Philip Roth? But they very generously sent some things for me to look at.

AKT: Who is this?

LE: Somebody said, it's a Bronzino from the 16th century. And I said, really? I see the reference that she means, I don't know if it actually is. They sent another one for another premiere I've got.

Indignation posters at the Yale Club Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

AKT: It's a nice treat to get.

LE: Yeah, it's wonderful. Just to borrow them. Then they will go back to Paris.

AKT: Let's talk about your role in Indignation. A lot of what happens hinges on the advice given by the mother.

LE: I knew that my responsibility was within the film to be his mother. And as his mother, that ultimately superseded whatever my traumas were with my husband - which were obviously great and had become untenable. However, the love for my son trumped that. She genuinely feels he is in danger.

I think when a mother fundamentally feels her child is in danger, they seem to transition into another mode and become a kind of tiger or lion in protection. She is clearly a very smart woman and she very savvily lays out a kind of argument with him - in her mind, I think, to save his life.

AKT: There is the genius of Philip Roth's storytelling. All the best intentions could be totally wrong for another person. Trusting your instincts with what you think is right, even if somebody who loves you so much tells you something else.

LE: I know. So he made the choices that he did.

AKT: Your husband in Indignation, Danny Burstein, was also with you in The Family Fang.

LE: Yes, and we also both acted together for a year on Broadway as Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz in Cabaret. Danny is a dear friend of mine and it was a real delight to work within on two films.

AKT: What can you say about James Schamus's direction?

LE: I was so excited to meet him. I knew it was his first feature, I knew enough about him that it was going to be a class act. I knew there were risks. He was funny in our first meeting, saying, " Why do you want to work with me?" He was asking those questions. That shows his humble nature.

The amount of work he did going into this is unbelievable. I think he pulled together a lot of really classy people. This kind of script doesn't come along very often. James is a very smart man and he is a very dear man, a pleasant man.

AKT: That's a good combination.

LE: It's a really good combination.

Read what Sarah Gadon, Logan Lerman and James Schamus had to say on Indignation.

Indignation opens in the US on July 29.