19th March 2010, FILM: Disgrace

I'd read the book Disgrace by JM Coetzee some time last year and wasn't sure how well it could be translated to the screen. So, I was relieved to find that Steve Jacobs had done an excellent job and with a great performance from John Malkovich, turned out a decent film. The film is about a University lecturer sacked due to an affair with a young student and his daughter, who he visits in the South African countryside. When the two are brutally attacked by some locals, they're forced to face up to their pasts, their relationship and their current life situations. The attack itself is played out well, as thoroughly shocking as it should be and Malkovich's turn as an awkwardly unsociable, troubled individual carries the film. Disgrace has some complex themes - South African politics, race, sexual politics - but deals with them subtly and well enough to make you think about the issues as the film unfolds, without resorting to obvious tactics or preaching.