edwagreen While John Malkovich gives a terrific performance as the dismissed professor, who had a relationship with a student in his romantic poetry class, the film should have stayed with that subject matter. Instead, it goes on to detail his move to the Eastern Cape to live with his daughter in a remote area. They're victimized by local natives in the town and the daughter is pregnant from one of the 3 men who raped her.In other words, Malkovich undergoes the performance of one who tormented a woman only to find himself tormented when his daughter is molested.His daughter's insistence on entering an unusual alliance to avoid an abortion is most perplexing.I enjoyed his lecture of Lucifer in the poetry class. Wasn't he describing himself?

cillyDINO not much can be said for the movie since the book itself was actually quite horrid. the implications that that lucy and lurie deserved being attacked because their black attackers suffered from apartheid is stupid and only serves to breed ignorance. J.M. Coetzee would move to Australia and tolerate terrorism. the book and this movie was a disgrace and a waste of malkovich's talents. in comparison to malkovich, the other characters are 2D and cliché. the portrayals of africans in the film is ... well we all hope its incorrect nowadays but it certainly supported apartheid then. the object the author wished to make is terribly delivered, making you question what on earth was he thinking

jdeureka "Disgrace" is a modern classic about South Africa. It is thoughtful yet disturbing, rich with emotion but grating, fertile yet ravaging. This is no place for pussy cats. It is exhilaratingly realistic, laced with romantic sentiment and veined by the theme of adamantine loyalty – an excellent movie. It puts the older well-intentioned but unctuous films about South Africa – like the adaptations of "Cry the Beloved Country" – to shame for their naiveté."Disgrace" is a story with a hard parable: wolves eat dogs. In spite of the fact that in the film's DVD "bonus" section there so much talk about being "forward looking" and positive; far more than these feel-good qualities is the story's demand for survival, the need to adapt to the environment (regardless of its warmth or gentle, amiable qualities).On one level "Disgrace" is "Ryan's Daughter" without romance but a hell of a feeling. In terms of actors & characters it's first rate. Malkovich is perfectly cast as the self-indulgent & Byronically self-destructive university professor. Nathalie Becker is ace perfect in tone and body; sexual but not sexy, fertile yet dry. She is the land of South Africa. In opposition & complement is the brilliant black actor Eriq Ebouaney, the power of whose character grows on you like a root of meaning taking hold. His grace & subtlety as an actor in the demanding role he plays gives new depth to the otherwise over-used theme of identity politics."Disgrace" is a worthy, worrying film; far more gritty docudrama than bloodless fiction.

Hitchcoc After viewing the first five minutes, it dawned on me that I had read this book a few years ago. It is a little hard to identify with the central figure, played by the quirky Malkovich. He makes decisions without a moments thought for their consequences. It would seem that he has little if any regard for anyone. So when he disgraces himself with his totally unprofessional behavior, he finds himself in the South African countryside, in the middle of racial tension following the end of apartheid. What is happening is an uneasy meeting of the two cultures as David (played by Malkovich) moves in with his daughter and stumbles around in his arrogant stupor, causing her no end of pain. She has her own issues. She is ultimately gang raped by some of the local blacks but refuses to rock the boat. She has no place to go and finds herself disenfranchised. Malkovich is a coward when it comes down to it or he is just plain stupid or so shortsighted. Anyway, Coetzee tells a great tale with a chance for reclamation all around. it's a purification through suffering. The cultures need time to settle in and it won't be easy.