Disgrace (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• paul s

  
  In the first third of the film Disgrace, it seems obvious to whom and what the title refers, but once Malkovich leaves his university position in Cape Town to visit his daughter on the outskirts of a rural community, the film offers a much deeper story, made all the more poignant by… More
  In the first third of the film Disgrace, it seems obvious to whom and what the title refers, but once Malkovich leaves his university position in Cape Town to visit his daughter on the outskirts of a rural community, the film offers a much deeper story, made all the more poignant by the several references to Lord Byron (and if you've no backround on Byron, then most of the subtext of what goes on here will be lost on you). Malkovich is perfectly cast as a College Professor of poetry, teaching in South Africa. He reveres Byron and uses a lot of Byron's text to justify his own self centered hedonism. He is a fatalist when the hammer finally falls (again harkening to parellells with Byron), and now at loose ends, decides to obstensively move in with his daughter. Once there he is confronted with the natural backlash of the end of apartheid (let's just call it reverse discrimination) - which some might call justified, or.. ahem, poetic justice - but really arpartheid was a disgrace, and the aftermath just as disgracefull - not the rosy "we are the world" that has been painted so often. The film moves at a very pedestrian pace, which gives one much time to ruminate and consider all kinds of topics - from discrimination on both sides of the coin, to the very real sense of Malkovich being a fish out of water - a highly educated man now living in a world where deepseated anger and might makes right rules the day. The kind of society that the western world is comfortable with crashes head long into a form of anarchy in South Africa, and how all sides deal with this is yet another subtext in the film. As Malkovich struggles, not only with himself, but with what is happening around him, the film, in my opinion, makes a couple of missteps. For all his intellectual insistance that he is a blameless for what society perceives to be his transgressions, he finally apologizes to the family he allegedly has harmed. To me this played false, more of an allegory referencing the bigger picture (apartheid) - unless Malkovich's beliefs were more shaken by the events around him than the film would lead you to believe. Further, after his mea culpa, he returns back to his daughter (who had banished him for reasons I won't get into) - a seemingly humbled man who has lost his self and seems willing to become a stone under the wheel. There is a very telling scene, shortly before the ending in which Malkovich seemingly is offered salvation - in the form of a dog who, as dogs do, offers unconditional love and fealty. A sane man, in a sane world, would have accepted the offer and taken the dog in - but Malkovich's world and his self have been torn asunder, so he abandons the animal - in effect also abandoning his self. Pretty deep stuff - and from what I hear, the source novel is awesome. I just wish the film's pacing was a bit sturdier and some better decisions were made in regards to certain scenes.

• Carlos M

  
  What is so fantastic about this powerful drama is not only its sheer intelligence in raising numerous questions on good and evil, morality and amorality, but that it is also gripping and completely unpredictable.

• Walter M

  
  In "Disgrace," David Lurie(John Malkovich) is an English professor at a university in Cape Town, a job he has become increasingly disillusioned with. At the same time, he seduces Melanie(Antoinette Engel), one of his students. Of course, not everybody is happy with this… More
  In "Disgrace," David Lurie(John Malkovich) is an English professor at a university in Cape Town, a job he has become increasingly disillusioned with. At the same time, he seduces Melanie(Antoinette Engel), one of his students. Of course, not everybody is happy with this relationship as it becomes increasingly public, especially after she attempts suicide. During an official university inquiry, David walks off and promptly resigns, not caring about his pension. He uses the time off to visit his daughter Lucy(Jessica Haines) whose girlfriend has just left her. This leaves her otherwise alone in a remote part of the country with her garden and kennel, employing Petrus(Eriq Ebouaney) as a general handyman. First and foremost, "Disgrace" is a beautifully filmed movie about the changing nature of post-Apartheid South Africa. I should point out that this is not the warm and fuzzy approach, but is instead deeply unsettling, centered around an unspeakable act of violence that occurs offscreen. This highly provocative allegory seeks to explore the future of the white minority who seek to protect their status behind locked gates in suburbs. Any difference in attitudes seems to be generational as it is David who has not adjusted well, shocked at how Petrus feels at home in his daughter's home. On a related note, David must also be told to change his status as a middle-aged lothario.(Of course, I don't have a problem with interracial relationships but they have to occur when race is irrelevant and I don't think that's the case with David.) In the end, John Malkovich's ability to play unlikable characters allows him to succeed in playing a character who at first comes off like just a heel but gets more sympathetic as time goes on.

• Mike T

  
  There is ambition in this film, and I respect it for touching on serious issues. However, it is lacking in too many vital areas for me to say I enjoyed it. It seems as if a great amount of subtext disappeared during the translation from novel to film. Scenes clatter into one another… More
  There is ambition in this film, and I respect it for touching on serious issues. However, it is lacking in too many vital areas for me to say I enjoyed it. It seems as if a great amount of subtext disappeared during the translation from novel to film. Scenes clatter into one another without rhythm or connection. Due to lack of development and communication, characters often behave in ways that seem baffling and inconceivable. John Malkovich's performance has received loads of praise, but I am disappointed to say I can't side with the positive reactions. His character choices are consistent and calculated enough for the most part, but I found them to be misplaced for the role. The protagonist appears nearly catatonic throughout the course of the picture, delivering all of his lines in a hushed monotone, his face a blank slate. Malkovich's physical portrayal seems too resigned in general; he shuffles around from scene to scene, looking more stupified than pensive. His accent is too muddled to pick up. Is he originally from South Africa? England? America? For the record, he is an actor I respect very much, but I think this was a botched effort for him. There are too many flaws in this film for it to hold together. It's an honorable attempt, but for me it falls short.

• Remi L

  
  Disgrace is the story about a womanizing Cape Town professor who moves to the countryside with his lesbian daughter where they get embroiled in the messy politics of post-apartheid South Africa. At first I thought this movie would be some comedy about a Casanova professor trying to… More
  Disgrace is the story about a womanizing Cape Town professor who moves to the countryside with his lesbian daughter where they get embroiled in the messy politics of post-apartheid South Africa. At first I thought this movie would be some comedy about a Casanova professor trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. This movie was through-and-through a heart-breaking drama that started off about one thing and ended up being about something else entirely. The second half of the movie especially had me infuriated. I couldn't understand what was going through his daughter's head living in this part of the country after all of the danger and trauma and found myself angry at her and her neighbors and just not being able to wrap my mind around her logic or actions or her anger towards her father. I didn't like this film because I found myself almost hating a number of the characters in the film, even the daughter after what she goes through. I wouldn't recommend this movie unless you want to find yourself yelling at the TV screen, but that's just me.

• Daisy M

  
  Disgrace was an adaptation of novel written by J.M. Coetzee and directed by Steve Jacobs. The main character was English professor David Lurie, a cold and uncaring man played by John Malkovich.He was a professor at an South African University..He started an affair with one of his… More
  Disgrace was an adaptation of novel written by J.M. Coetzee and directed by Steve Jacobs. The main character was English professor David Lurie, a cold and uncaring man played by John Malkovich.He was a professor at an South African University..He started an affair with one of his students which cost him his job. He left to Eastern Cape to live with his daughter Lucy. She grew flowers and vegetables,to sell in the local market. One day three young black men appeared and asked to use the phone. They raped Lucy, nearly killed David, and shot all Lucy's dogs, destroying the house and stole David's car. Being a dog lover myself, this movie was very hard for me to endure. It was a heavy movie about race, sex, revenge, dog mistreatment and apartheid.

• Robert F

  
  What makes Disgrace difficult and rewarding, among other things, is its ruthlessly clear-eyed sense of its own terms and its refusal to find easy comfort or solutions. Deeply complex and thought-provoking.

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