Amazing Disgrace

29 April, 2010

J.M. Coetzee wrote a brilliant novel, Disgrace, in 1999. Shortly thereafter it won the illustrious Booker Prize that year. It was a masterpiece. It was depressing. It was literature, in the best sense of the word. And it was set to remain as a great book forever.

Then a cryptic IMDB entry appeared and began taunting fans - for years, finally a film adaptation premiered at film festivals in 2008 before opening in several Commonwealth countries. It then went on to a limited release in the US and finally arrived in the United States on DVD and download this week (iTunes link). Though it starred John Malkovich and got positive reviews, the film received little fanfare. The film was Directed by an Australian, Steve Jacobs.

As it always does with the appropriation of this level of literature, the question arises; does it live up to its namesake’s acclaim?

So often a brilliant novel is transformed into a movie that does not even come close to living up to the expectations set by the book, regardless of having great actors and known directors (Waterland, I’m looking at you). Yet other times, something great comes out of the process - a more accessible medium being just that, more accessible. Think of Tsotsi - a very good book, but a great movie. And that, by no means, is because the movie is better than the book, instead it is just that the movie is better at being a movie than the book is compared to the best of its own medium. Of course with this newfound accessibility something has to be lost, removed to make the film easier to take in - a very understandable fact when transferring a book that takes days to digest into 90 short minutes.

Yet the mark of a great movie based on fiction is that the story still comes across as genuine. Disgrace does this amazingly well.

The plot of Disgrace is stark in its simplicity, and because of its spartan nature a spoiler-free review is difficult (this is an attempt to do just that, so if this is not reading like a typical review, that is why). In short, a respected college professor experiences the essence of the title, then is forced to come to grips with his new life in disgrace. In the film, like the book, regardless of how he handles the situation, he understands it well:

He is what he calls himself, a monster.

The monster, David Lurie, is played - amazingly - by John Malkovich. This portrayal is key to the film working. The audience must at all times be both disgusted with and emphatic for him. When he is filled with malice the audience is jarred, uncertain about if his outbursts are vindicated, based both on the situation and his terrible demeanor at other times.

Uncertainty drives the narrative. The entire film is a direct challenge to the viewer - a constant struggle to decide who is right and wrong in every situation. Nothing is clear cut - the story uses its setting in a post-apartheid South Africa amazingly. Racial undertones keep the the audience off-balance during what should be the less contentious moments.

Of course all of this creates an atmosphere in the film that may make it a bad choice for a Friday night where you’re looking to relax and have a laugh. That’s the problem a movie like this can have - many people just don’t want to feel like watching a movie takes effort. And make no mistake about it, Disgrace is exhausting. It is exhausting in the most amazing way possible - and definitely worth the effort a proper viewing takes.