THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA

Based on Philip Roth's novel of the same name, the plot of which speculates what might have happened if Charles Lindbergh, the great aviation hero of the time, had run against FDR in 1940 and won. Lindy was an admirer of Hitler and an American First-er. Roth's version of an alternative history has President Lindy appeasing not just Hitler and his regime but the homegrown nazi-sympathizers and other anti-semitic and racist groups and individuals in the USA.

The novel seemed too exaggerated to some critics but has proven, unfortunately, to be almost predictive of our own times. Though not perfectly cast, the writing and direction are so compelling, at times disturbingly so, and some of the actors so good—especially Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector, and Winona Ryder—that I highly recommend it.

[And as a postscript may I add that many of the details of a period and area I was born into (like the bus signs and the styles and the way the everyone was out in front of their homes on warm nights, the men standing in groups, smoking, and discussing politics, the kids staying out of the way doing their own thing, the women finally relaxing after a hard day's work, all having earlier gathered around the living room radio to hear the news and shows) were so well done I felt like I was time traveling to my childhood world.]