SYNOPSIS:
John Malkovich stars in director Steve Jacobs's adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's Booker Prize-winning novel concerning a Cape Town professor whose flight from scandal leads him into a direct confrontation with the lingering demons of apartheid. Fastidious Cape Town college professor David Lurie (Malkovich) may see himself as somewhat impervious, though he's about to bring about his own downfall due to a selfish and foolhardy relationship with a student who isn't afraid to drag their clandestine affair screaming into the light. When controversy erupts on campus as a result of the affair, David beats a hasty retreat into the countryside in order to lie low on his daughter Lucy's (Jessica Haines) farm in the Eastern Cape. David fears for his daughter's isolation, fears that are soon confirmed when father and daughter are violently attacked by three black youth. In the aftermath of the horrific siege, David is deeply shaken to learn that one of their assailants is, in fact, a relative of trusted worker Petrus (Eriq Ebouaney), who lives peacefully alongside Lucy in the South African brush and has even begun constructing a home at the edge of her property. Can these people somehow find grace in a country that's still struggling with its tragic history, or is that history destined to repeat itself forever into the future?
MOVIE REVIEW:
"Some people confuse acceptance with apathy, but there's all the difference in the world. Apathy fails to distinguish between what can and what cannot be helped; acceptance makes that distinction. Apathy paralyzes the will-to-action; acceptance frees it by relieving it of impossible burdens." – Arthur Gordon
Steve Jacobs' adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel by J.M. Coetzee is a difficult film to watch. Not because it is dull and dreary- on the contrary, it is gripping and often deeply poignant. But "Disgrace" is not an easy film to sit through because it has the audacity to ask difficult questions that don't come with any easy answers, and also the courage to answer those difficult questions with equally challenging answers.
Faithfully and skilfully adapted for the screen by Anna-Maria Monticelli, it tells the story of a cavalier professor of romantic poetry, Professor David Lurie (John Malkovich), at a Cape Town University. Right from the start, it's clear that we are looking at a deeply flawed man, a man who openly seduces an attractive mixed-race student Melanie Isaacs (Antoinette Engel) then arrogantly tells his fellow academia at the board inquiry that he is completely guilty. He doesn’t bother to find an excuse for his actions and is without remorse for them.
Upon his dismissal, David goes to visit his lesbian daughter Lucy (Jessica Haines) living out on a remote farm. Their relatively tranquil life is shattered when three black men arrive at the farm one day and brutally rape Lucy, while setting David on fire. David wants justice, he wants to bring to the authorities the culprits for this heinous crime- but an unexpected rift develops between him and Lucy when she seems reluctant to pursue the course of justice.
David's indignation is understandable- and Steve Jacobs deftly shows enough details of the dreadful act to get you stirred up. The reality however is not so simple- "Disgrace" is set in the post-apartheid South Africa where despite Mandela's best efforts at integration, there remains pent-up frustration by some black South Africans of the Whites' years of domination, frustration which inevitably precipitated the kind of violence which Lucy and David were subject to. While it's clear that what happens to Lucy is wrong, what's ambiguous is the appropriate response that follows.
Unable to come to terms with the new social order, David remains stuck in a colonial mentality, assuming- either implicitly or explicitly- the moral superiority of his race, evident in his disdain towards the black farmhand Petrus (Eriq Ebouaney) whom Lucy has divided her property with. It is precisely this mentality that makes his dogged pursuit for justice anachronistic, and unwise even, for how is he to survive in a country at a time when racial feelings are already at a boil.
This context provides reason for Lucy's otherwise inexplicable passive reaction. Even as Petrus offers an unlikely proposition, Lucy's desire is simple- she simply wants peace, reconciliation and harmony with her neighbours, even if it means having to make certain tough choices and sacrifices along the way. Is that necessarily the better option? Jacobs' film is smart enough not to take sides- for ethical dilemmas are never just right or wrong.
Anchoring the film in a tour de force performance is John Malkovich. Probably his best role in years, Malkovich conveys both the egotism of his character as well as his subsequent vulnerabilities coming to terms with a world which has changed too quickly for his grasp. Just as worthy of mention is Jessica Haines whose stoic performance as Lucy is beautiful and yet heartbreaking to watch.
It's somewhat of a disgrace that such a fine film had slipped past our cinemas- here is the rare adult drama that doesn’t pander to its audience but invites its viewers to understand it from the perspective it offers, one that is attuned to the harsh realities of an ever-changing socio-political climate. As my opening quote points out, acceptance isn’t apathy- it means having the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Region Free DVD from E1 Entertainment comes with two main extras. The first is a series of short interviews with writer Anna-Maria Monticelli on the genesis of this adaptation, director Steve Jacobs as well as the rest of the cast. The second is a “Behind the Scenes” look at the film, which rather disappointingly, is no more than a B-roll of footage from the film. Still interesting to watch for how the cast and crew made the film even more authentic by filming out in the South African wilderness.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio makes use of the back speakers for ambient sounds. Picture is exceptionally sharp and clear, and the colours of the wilderness come off rich and dynamic.
MOVIE RATING :
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted
on 20 May 2010 |
