Disgrace: Movie Review

Disgrace: Movie Review

Disgrace
Rating: 6/10
Cast: John Malkovich, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney
Director: Steve Jacobs
Based on the novel by author JM Coetzee, Disgrace tells the story of professor David Lurie (Malkovich) who leaves the Cape Town university where he lectures after an affair with a student.
While the enquiry into his conduct takes place, he heads to his daughter Lucy's (Haines) farm on the Eastern Cape.
She lives there alone - apart from her partnership with Petrus (Ebouaney) - and appears to be finding her way in the world.
Slowly David begins to find his place with his daughter and her way of life - after initial contempt - but after a shocking attack on the farm, the father and daughter are left to pick up the pieces - and find their lives will never be the same again.
Disgrace is not an easy watch - Malkovich doesn't make his character of Lurie likeable or sympathetic. When first we meet him, he is a creepy, desperate sounding man who wants a connection with someone, anyone - be it a prostitute or student, Lurie is a man who is contemptuous of life and others and who's flagrantly abusing his position of power.
So it's no wonder he's scornful of the rural idyllic lifestyle of the farm and the relationship between Lucy and Petrus as it feels like a direct contrast to the life he had at the university.
But around 45 minutes into the film, that is thrown completely on its head with the attack - which sees a father confront his worst fears and being unable to protect his daughter.
And it's also at this point that the audience may find it a little difficult (read: harrowing) to carry on viewing as Disgrace gets more intense the longer it goes on.
Malkovich is stoic as Lurie - I never really had the feeling he's a character for which I should root for and even towards the end of the film, his actions don't leave me feeling that he was redeemed - or that he even truly sought redemption in any shape or form..
Perhaps this is the power of the screenplay - and of Malkovich the actor - because it's a morally ambiguous and deeply complex film which denies its lead a fully redemptive arc, something which is normally frowned on upon the big screen.
Jessica Haines is immensely compelling as his daughter Lucy - faced with a spiralling situation which escalates ever further into heartbreaking territory, her virtual underplaying of the role guarantees her strength and the ongoing sympathy of the audience.
Disgrace is a tricky, tough challenging watch - it may alienate some and deeply upset others - but it poses a series of terrible situations and then gives its characters room to breathe in an horrific reality.

However, thanks to the performance of the central two actors, you'll leave the cinema with plenty to discuss.