Disgrace

R

Released Sep 18, 2009

1h 58m

Drama

List

83%

59 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In Cape Town, South Africa, during the final years of apartheid, David Lurie (John Malkovich), disgraced by an improper affair with a female student, decamps to live with his daughter, Lucy (Jessica Haines), on her country farm. David quickly settles into the quieter pace of rural life and begins to make peace with the scandal. But trouble erupts when a group of black youths rob the farm and rape Lucy, leading David to question his place within the social fabric of South Africa.

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Critics Consensus

Featuring outstanding performances from John Malkovich and newcomer Jessica Haines, Disgrace is a disturbing, powerful drama.

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Kate

Out on a fence with this one. Very slow and somewhat confusing. Toward ending he has met an adorable stray dog who liked him. Then one day, he takes it out of cage to be put down. Just like that. This is when the movie ended for me. There was no redemption from this. I almost gave one star as disturbing and very unnecessary scene.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is an adaptation from a novel with the same name written by J.M. Coetzee. I don't understand why some novels are adapted into movies. I just can't comprehend what's accomplished. What I noticed pretty quickly was that it was harder to empathize with the character in the movie. Whereas, in the novel, you really feel like you are experiencing the world through the character. You're not shut out the same way you are when you view him on the screen. Rather than engaging with the character it just feels like you are spending time with a friend, a friend who comes across as rather stuck up. These are rather harsh statements I'm making. But perhaps with translations such as these we should first and foremost try to find a way to, as Ishmael so eloquently puts it, penetrate the wall that is appearances. On a more superficial level, I could absolutely recommend this adaptation but again I am forced to wonder, to what purpose? It is a book, and it is well written, why not read the book? Are these adaptations for people who cannot read or who have no imagination of their own? Or are we supposed to assume that what we are seeing is Coetzee's story as imagined by someone who read it?

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

WOW......WOW....WOW......WOW.....WOW.....SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, BRILLIANT MOVIE 2 WATCH WITH A FANTASTIC CAST THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE IT IS SUCH A POWERFUL DRAMA MOVIE 2 WATCH, BUT IT IS SUCH A BRILLIANT MOVIE 2 WATCH WITH A SUPERB CAST THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE....... WARNING THIS MOVIE CONTAINS STROBE LIGHTNING EFFECTS THROUGHOUT SOME SCENES THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE.......

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Serge L

Strange story of alienation in alien nation. What america could have been if the englishes had not completed their invasion maybe.South Africa at the time of passing of the powers to the africans natives. An old white prof takes advantage of one student and life takes an ironic revenge, coincidentally. His daughter is taken advantage of and likes it. For me, it's a clash of societies that hurts because of their respective psychopaths. The women, especially the black-skinned ones are incredibly beautiful in this film. They stand out so much. Please, move to Canada!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/23/15

Full Review

Audience Member

Strange story of alienation in alien nation. What america could have been if the englishes had not completed their invasion maybe.South Africa at the time of passing of the powers to the africans natives. An old white prof takes advantage of one student and life takes an ironic revenge, coincidentally. His daughter is taken advantage of and likes it. For me, it's a clash of societies that hurts because of their respective psychopaths. The women, especially the black-skinned ones are incredibly beautiful in this film. They stand out so much. Please, move to Canada!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I read this book at book club and really enjoyed it. The film is just as good. John Malcovich is well cast in the lead role. His performance holds the film together - some parts are uncomfortable to watch

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

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Steve Jacobs

Director

John Malkovich

David Lurie

Jessica Haines

Lucy

Eriq Ebouaney

Petrus

Fiona Press

Bev

Antoinette Engel

Melanie

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Aaron Hillis

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

Surprisingly successful adaptation.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 4, 2009

Full Review

Nina Caplan

Time Out

It's an enormously complicated story with great potential for reductive schmaltz, but this is avoided thanks to Anna Maria Monticelli's sharp, sensitive screenplay and superb performances.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 4, 2009

Full Review

David Harris

Spectrum Culture

It is Lurie's white privilege that is most disturbing...

Rated: 4/5

Oct 11, 2019

Full Review

Kelly Jane Torrance

Washington Times

The Nobel Prize laureate's cutting novel of sex and power in post-apartheid South Africa has been brought to the big screen with all of the loneliness and most of the intelligence of the novel intact.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 5, 2018

Full Review

Edward Porter

Sunday Times (UK)

If you know the novel, you're likely to feel that something has been lost here; if you don't, you still have the film's monotonous pacing to contend with. Still, Jacobs has directed an intelligent, intriguing drama.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 11, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

In Cape Town, South Africa, during the final years of apartheid, David Lurie (John Malkovich), disgraced by an improper affair with a female student, decamps to live with his daughter, Lucy (Jessica Haines), on her country farm. David quickly settles into the quieter pace of rural life and begins to make peace with the scandal. But trouble erupts when a group of black youths rob the farm and rape Lucy, leading David to question his place within the social fabric of South Africa.

Director: Steve Jacobs
Producer: Wouter Barendrecht, Julio DePietro
Screenwriter: Anna Maria Monticelli
Distributor: Paladin
Production Co: Fortissimo Film Sales, Wild Strawberries Pty Ltd.
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Nudity|Brief Language|Some Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 18, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $66.6K
Runtime: 1h 58m

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