No Disgrace

I heard that Anna Maria Monticelli wrote the script for this film on spec with no guarantee the Nobel Prize winning South African author J.M.Coetzee, would ever agree to it. The amount of faith and discipline that takes is hard to imagine but it paid off and the finished film, directed by her partner Steve Jacobs is testament to her taste and tenacity. This is their second film after 'La Spagnola'.

Right at the start you are launched into a world presided over by that faded satyr John Malkovich, who stalks my imagination as the predator in 'Les Liaisons'. He is older now and paler, so pale in fact that soon his image actually fades from the screen but the demon lives. Facing rows of fresh faced students he finds another beauty and wills himself into her world. What follows is a sad story of use and abuse which leaves him with nowhere to go but his daughter's faraway cottage nestled deep in the spectacular South African mountain ranges. From here the saga turns in on itself in a relentless chart of decline and retreat.

Malkovich is great but surrounded by performances of equal strength and humanity. The violence when it looms is fearful but there is no slobbering over details, just a tense build up that explodes into chaos. What a pity this scene was used for the trailer as it comes as a complete shock.

Apparently Malkovich knocked on doors asking his fellow cast members to go over lines with him so... what you see on screen is not always what you get on set. Some actors took a mental photo of themselves - 'Me rehearsing with Malkovich.'

Watch out for the Australian cast, especially Anne Looby and Fiona Press. Press gives a great performance in the larger role. She has my vote for any award that looks like coming her way.

To see the 'Disgrace' trailer, click here: