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IMDbPro

Disgrace

  • 20082008
  • RR
  • 1h 59m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
5.6K
YOUR RATING
John Malkovich in Disgrace (2008)
Gripping trailer for this drama about a disgraced professor dealing with post-apartheid politics
Play trailer2:20
5 Videos
3 Photos
Drama
After having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.After having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.After having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
5.6K
YOUR RATING
    • Steve Jacobs
    • Anna Maria Monticelli(screenplay)
    • J.M. Coetzee(based on the novel by)
  • Stars
    • John Malkovich
    • Natalie Becker
    • Jessica Haines
    • Steve Jacobs
    • Anna Maria Monticelli(screenplay)
    • J.M. Coetzee(based on the novel by)
  • Stars
    • John Malkovich
    • Natalie Becker
    • Jessica Haines
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 40User reviews
    • 85Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos5

    Disgrace
    Trailer 2:20
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    Disgrace
    Trailer 2:19
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    Disgrace
    Clip 1:22
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    Disgrace
    Clip 1:14
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    Disgrace
    Clip 2:26
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    Photos

    John Malkovich in Disgrace (2008)
    John Malkovich in Disgrace (2008)
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    Top cast

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    John Malkovich
    John Malkovich
    • Professor David Lurie
    Natalie Becker
    Natalie Becker
    • Soraya
    Jessica Haines
    • Lucy Lurie
    Eriq Ebouaney
    Eriq Ebouaney
    • Petrus
    Fiona Press
    Fiona Press
    • Bev Shaw
    Antoinette Engel
    • Melanie Isaacs
    Antonio Fisher
    • Sidney - Student
    Isabella De Villiers
    • Mrs. Cundell - Student
    Cindy Mkaza
    • Mrs. Mbeti - Student
    Liezel De Kock
    • Student Director
    Charles Tertiens
    • Ryan
    David Dennis
    • Mr. Isaacs
    • (as David Denis)
    Paula Arundell
    • Dr Farodia Rassool
    Anne Looby
    • Rosalind
    David Ritchie
    • Manas Mathbane
    Monroe Reimers
    Monroe Reimers
    • Hakim
    Bulelwa Freer
    • Secretary
    Alana Louise Bowden
    • Student
      • Steve Jacobs
      • Anna Maria Monticelli(screenplay)
      • J.M. Coetzee(based on the novel by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      'Disgrace' won the Best Narrative Film (The Black Pearl) Award at the Middle East Film Festival 2008.
    • Goofs
      The notices in the lecture theater "Mid-term test" and "Casanova - your time is over" appear to have been written by the same person. Given the professionalism adopted by the university in its investigation of Mr Laurie it does not seem plausible to suggest that one person (say, a teacher's aide) wrote both notices.
    • Quotes

      Professor David Lurie: The one who comes to teach learns the keenest of lessons, those who come to learn learn nothing.

    • Connections
      References Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
    • Soundtracks
      She Walks in Beauty
      Written by Graeme Koehne

      Performed by Beth Wightwick and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

    User reviews40

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Bleak morality tale
    Both J.M. Coetzee's novel and its film adaptation leave their audience wanting more answers. Disgrace is a confronting and brutal tale of life in modern South Africa. The message is clear. There are no simple solutions.

    Literary academic David Lurie's admiration of Byron seems to have formed his personal morality and his professional ethics.

    His amorality leads to a doomed relationship that precipitates both work and identity crises. His alienation from university colleagues and students results in a refusal to defend his reputation or his professorial position.

    He is not the victim of an old fool's infatuation but the arrogance of a serial Casanova. He quotes William Blake as his sole defence, "Sooner strangle an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires." His retreat to his daughter's remote farm entangles their individual problems in the realities of life in the post apartheid era.

    Director Steve Jacobs and screenwriter Anna Maria Monticelli continue their professional and personal partnership as co-producers. Their earlier collaboration on La spagnola in 2001 was another Australian production that is a minor gem.

    John Malkovich's ability to convey complete self absorption and intense self doubt without dialogue make him an excellent choice for David. Relative newcomer Jessica Haines plays his daughter Lucy. Hers is a competent and moving performance. Eriq Ebouaney strikes the right tone in a difficult role as Petrus, the black farmer and her co-landholder.

    Disgrace is an adaptation that more than does justice to the novel. Like the book, it does not sensationalise or over-dramatise this extremely difficult story. I had misgivings before the screening because the novel seemed so bleak. Lucy's compromise and David's acceptance of her decision offer such slim hope.

    We are left with little doubt that this is an allegory for the issues facing modern multi-racial South Africa. Yet it is at the personal level that the film is most powerful.

    Kevin Rennie Cinema Takes http://cinematakes.blogspot.com
    helpful•55
    15
    • kevin-rennie
    • Jul 14, 2009

    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 18, 2009 (Australia)
      • Australia
      • South Africa
      • English
      • Xhosa
      • Afrikaans
      • Zulu
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Fortissimo Films
      • Sherman Films
      • Whitest Pouring Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 59 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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