Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
DISGRACE
October 6th 2009 09:28
DISGRACE
The screenplay was adapted from Noble Laureate J.M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel Disgrace, by Anna Maria Monticelli.
ICON DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC RELEASE OCTOBER 21 2009 on BLU-RAY and DVD.
The film, set in post apartheid Cape Town, South Africa, opens with romantic poetry Professor David Lurie (John Malkovich) having just had sex with a beautiful young prostitute. Upon hearing the woman cannot meet him next week, because her mother is ill, he attempts to get her home contact details, so he can meet up with her anyway. She refuses and he is obviously annoyed. He leaves her the money on a side table, along with a small, expensively wrapped gift, which she does not verbally acknowledge; a subtle dramatic touch suggesting this prostitute, in no way, feels subordinate to the white man.
This tacit narrative subtext, of the emerging self esteem of the once downtrodden “blacks” and “coloureds” (as the whites called Indian or mixed race people), keeps welling up throughout the film, at times in explosively overt manner. It is, in my opinion, the far stronger message to be gained from the film, other than the overtly predatory and unrepentant attitude of Lurie, the poetic Lucifer anthropomorphised, in his awful reality.
This vignette reveals the deeper, callously selfish nature of Lurie, who cares only for his desires, and has little time or respect for other people’s lives.
It is not long before Lurie has a chance meeting with his next object of desire, a beautiful young woman of mixed race, Melanie Isaacs (Antionette Engel) who is also a student in one of his classes. Lurie sees her trip on university courtyard steps and takes the opportunity to inveigle himself into her company, inviting her for a drink.
Obviously slightly intimidated by Lurie’s position of power, (as she is in his poetry class) Melanie agrees, but this is not enough for the predatory Lurie, for after insisting on another date, he then has sex with her; we only see the ending moments, he on top, she lying almost fully clothed on the floor, looking away and emotionally detached, which connotes effectively the relationship between them; his the action of wanton lust, she the silent acquiescing victim.
But not for long!
The campus finds out and Lurie, who refuses to endure a university board’s probing analysis of his motivations and actions, short circuits the process by admitting guilt, refusing to read his accuser’s accusations, stating blandly that they would most likely be all true; on the surface it appears as a form of contrition, but devoid of humility and any heartfelt regret; in reality, that is probably impossible for the sociopathic mindset Lurie lives by, which will be sorely tested later on in the film when he visits his daughter, in order to escape the storm he produced in Cape Town’s university.
On his daughter Lucy’s farm, (so well played by Jessica Haines), we meet a practical girl who is recently bereft of her girlfriend. Lucy shares her land with an African man, Petrus (Eriq Ebouaney) with whom she has developed a complex relationship, reflecting both her inner values but also the more brutal reality of an unattached female existing in the countryside.
It is here that Lurie and his accustomed 'whiteman' status is truly confronted; on a racial, legal and personal level, the rough abrasion of a fallen ruling class trying to deal with the upcoming Africans reclaiming their status, their tribal ego and their traditional lands, has inevitably tragic consequences for someone. This newly forming society has no easy transition, for it is often violent and unjust, however, it is obviously a social by-product of a people who have been subjected to apartheid and monstrously inhumane treatment for a very long time.
This film in no way attempts to take a moral stance on either side, it presents people and situations without that comfort, which is what makes it so brilliant. It is a tough reality film, a challenging assault on our usually indifferent and uneventful urban lives.
This film should jolt the average Australian viewer out of their complacency; by creating an internal mirror for reflection upon our own dreadful inter-race history, so tainted with the blood of so many tribes of Aborigines, some of whom have been completely obliterated since the British usurped this continent two hundred years ago.
Support cast always make the brilliant leading roles shine all the brighter; Antionette Engel whose sensitive performance of the vulnerable student Melanie Isaacs, Lurie's victim, served to enhance Malkovich's performance, which was as disturbingly engrossing as a viper; Eriq Ebouaney as Petrus presents a steady and quietly uncompromising character; Petrus is the African man of the future, who recognizes injustice, but keeps a pragmatic, unemotionally expressed attitude to life's vicissitudes, so as to better his life and that of his family, an African country man's attitude, that will always prevail over the expected social mores of urban existence.
Award winning actress Fiona Press, (Best Actress for "Waiting") gives the film moments of heart, without which the film would appear all too callous. Bev Shaw, (Fiona Press) is the caring best friend of Lucy, who volunteers her time at the animal shelter doing what she can to help the animals, when she can, and the best she can, but even Shaw has her flaws.
Sadly the animal shelter mainly derives a steady income from a government allowance, for the killing of unwanted dogs. Shaw’s role appears to create a moral sounding board upon which Lurie may find some humanity beyond his immediate personal needs and desires. However, even Shaw fails, succumbing to Lurie's power of attraction and her own unaddressed emotional needs; inevitably, Lurie abandons the stray dog he befriended, leaving it to her to euthanize.
This review is but small introduction to the vast emotional landscape you will discover when viewing this film. It is an uncompromising ride that leaves you with a desire to view it again. It is a rich and rough tapestry of life, woven with menacing precision and consumate care.
AWARDS
Disgrace won Best Feature Film Adaptation at the Australian Writers Guild Awards 2008, and the Critics Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2008.
CREDITS:
Directed by Steve Jacobs
Produced by Steve Jacobs
Anna Maria Monticelli
Emile Sherman
Written by J. M. Coetzee (novel)
Anna Maria Monticelli (screenplay)
Starring Eriq Ebouaney
Jessica Haines
John Malkovich
Music by Antony Partos
Cinematography Steve Arnold
Editing by Alexandre de Franceschi
Release date(s) 2008
Running time 120 min.
Language English
Xhosa
Afrikaans
Zulu
The screenplay was adapted from Noble Laureate J.M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel Disgrace, by Anna Maria Monticelli.
DISGRACE an ICON Distribution film
ICON DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC RELEASE OCTOBER 21 2009 on BLU-RAY and DVD.
The film, set in post apartheid Cape Town, South Africa, opens with romantic poetry Professor David Lurie (John Malkovich) having just had sex with a beautiful young prostitute. Upon hearing the woman cannot meet him next week, because her mother is ill, he attempts to get her home contact details, so he can meet up with her anyway. She refuses and he is obviously annoyed. He leaves her the money on a side table, along with a small, expensively wrapped gift, which she does not verbally acknowledge; a subtle dramatic touch suggesting this prostitute, in no way, feels subordinate to the white man.
This tacit narrative subtext, of the emerging self esteem of the once downtrodden “blacks” and “coloureds” (as the whites called Indian or mixed race people), keeps welling up throughout the film, at times in explosively overt manner. It is, in my opinion, the far stronger message to be gained from the film, other than the overtly predatory and unrepentant attitude of Lurie, the poetic Lucifer anthropomorphised, in his awful reality.
This vignette reveals the deeper, callously selfish nature of Lurie, who cares only for his desires, and has little time or respect for other people’s lives.
It is not long before Lurie has a chance meeting with his next object of desire, a beautiful young woman of mixed race, Melanie Isaacs (Antionette Engel) who is also a student in one of his classes. Lurie sees her trip on university courtyard steps and takes the opportunity to inveigle himself into her company, inviting her for a drink.
Obviously slightly intimidated by Lurie’s position of power, (as she is in his poetry class) Melanie agrees, but this is not enough for the predatory Lurie, for after insisting on another date, he then has sex with her; we only see the ending moments, he on top, she lying almost fully clothed on the floor, looking away and emotionally detached, which connotes effectively the relationship between them; his the action of wanton lust, she the silent acquiescing victim.
But not for long!
The campus finds out and Lurie, who refuses to endure a university board’s probing analysis of his motivations and actions, short circuits the process by admitting guilt, refusing to read his accuser’s accusations, stating blandly that they would most likely be all true; on the surface it appears as a form of contrition, but devoid of humility and any heartfelt regret; in reality, that is probably impossible for the sociopathic mindset Lurie lives by, which will be sorely tested later on in the film when he visits his daughter, in order to escape the storm he produced in Cape Town’s university.
On his daughter Lucy’s farm, (so well played by Jessica Haines), we meet a practical girl who is recently bereft of her girlfriend. Lucy shares her land with an African man, Petrus (Eriq Ebouaney) with whom she has developed a complex relationship, reflecting both her inner values but also the more brutal reality of an unattached female existing in the countryside.
It is here that Lurie and his accustomed 'whiteman' status is truly confronted; on a racial, legal and personal level, the rough abrasion of a fallen ruling class trying to deal with the upcoming Africans reclaiming their status, their tribal ego and their traditional lands, has inevitably tragic consequences for someone. This newly forming society has no easy transition, for it is often violent and unjust, however, it is obviously a social by-product of a people who have been subjected to apartheid and monstrously inhumane treatment for a very long time.
This film in no way attempts to take a moral stance on either side, it presents people and situations without that comfort, which is what makes it so brilliant. It is a tough reality film, a challenging assault on our usually indifferent and uneventful urban lives.
This film should jolt the average Australian viewer out of their complacency; by creating an internal mirror for reflection upon our own dreadful inter-race history, so tainted with the blood of so many tribes of Aborigines, some of whom have been completely obliterated since the British usurped this continent two hundred years ago.
Support cast always make the brilliant leading roles shine all the brighter; Antionette Engel whose sensitive performance of the vulnerable student Melanie Isaacs, Lurie's victim, served to enhance Malkovich's performance, which was as disturbingly engrossing as a viper; Eriq Ebouaney as Petrus presents a steady and quietly uncompromising character; Petrus is the African man of the future, who recognizes injustice, but keeps a pragmatic, unemotionally expressed attitude to life's vicissitudes, so as to better his life and that of his family, an African country man's attitude, that will always prevail over the expected social mores of urban existence.
Award winning actress Fiona Press, (Best Actress for "Waiting") gives the film moments of heart, without which the film would appear all too callous. Bev Shaw, (Fiona Press) is the caring best friend of Lucy, who volunteers her time at the animal shelter doing what she can to help the animals, when she can, and the best she can, but even Shaw has her flaws.
Sadly the animal shelter mainly derives a steady income from a government allowance, for the killing of unwanted dogs. Shaw’s role appears to create a moral sounding board upon which Lurie may find some humanity beyond his immediate personal needs and desires. However, even Shaw fails, succumbing to Lurie's power of attraction and her own unaddressed emotional needs; inevitably, Lurie abandons the stray dog he befriended, leaving it to her to euthanize.
This review is but small introduction to the vast emotional landscape you will discover when viewing this film. It is an uncompromising ride that leaves you with a desire to view it again. It is a rich and rough tapestry of life, woven with menacing precision and consumate care.
AWARDS
Disgrace won Best Feature Film Adaptation at the Australian Writers Guild Awards 2008, and the Critics Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2008.
CREDITS:
Directed by Steve Jacobs
Produced by Steve Jacobs
Anna Maria Monticelli
Emile Sherman
Written by J. M. Coetzee (novel)
Anna Maria Monticelli (screenplay)
Starring Eriq Ebouaney
Jessica Haines
John Malkovich
Music by Antony Partos
Cinematography Steve Arnold
Editing by Alexandre de Franceschi
Release date(s) 2008
Running time 120 min.
Language English
Xhosa
Afrikaans
Zulu
| 54 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Great review. Sounds like a profound emotional film that i must see.
I just hope it doesn't turn into a preach fest or obvious message film.
Comment by Mountain Fog
in no way does this film preach.
In fact that is one of its greatest achievements, it allows things to develop in a natural way, in extraordinary circumstances, it is not a Hollywood gloss number with a neat ending and often it is what is not expressed between characters that conveys a lot.
The lead, (Malkovich) is an unrepentant selfish type, but he does display raw emotion, and a sense of proper justice, when things turn nasty for his daughter.
Also, you MUST watch Mary and Max, that was brilliant.
cheers
fog
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Mountain Fog
tanx, and yeah, it is a real hard nosed trip alright, and I felt it was well written and directed, as they allowed a lot of time for the unstated, the unenunciated, so you can think through it and giving more depth to the characters.
cheers
fog