Overview: John Malkovich stars in director Steve Jacobs's adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's Booker Prize-winning novel concerning a Cape Town professor whose flight from scandal leads him into a direct confrontation with the lingering demons of apartheid.

DVD: After having read J.M. Coetzee's complex, disturbing, shocking and controversial novel, one could not directly see how this story could be transformed into an appealing screenplay and still less into a convincing movie.

It's heavily charged with all kind of sexual contacts, unforced and forced ones (by someone who is in a dominating position) and even with pure rape. It deals also with the eventual outcome of those contacts, like pregnancy and parental love.

Moreover, the story unfolds against the violent background of open racism in a country known for its apartheid. Steve Jacobs did a formidable job in turning the harsh and sometimes bitter and terrible realities into a moving, emotional and ultimately sublime movie, which matches the book.

The director was impressively helped by his cast and in the first place by John Malkovich, whose (physical! and mental) interpretation of the very uninviting character of a sexually driven university professor is certainly one of his most memorable. He was superbly seconded by Jessica Haines as his fiercely independent daughter as well as by the rest of the cast.

Fastidious Cape Town college professor David Lurie (Malkovich) may see himself as somewhat impervious, though he's about to bring about his own downfall due to a selfish and foolhardy relationship with a student who isn't afraid to drag their clandestine affair screaming into the light. When controversy erupts on campus as a result of the affair, David beats a hasty retreat into the countryside in order to lie low on his daughter Lucy's (Jessica Haines) farm in the Eastern Cape. David fears for his daughter's isolation, fears that are soon confirmed when father and daughter are violently attacked by three black youth.

Can these people somehow find grace in a country that's still struggling with its tragic history, or is that history destined to repeat itself forever into the future? A must see for all movie lovers and for all admirers J. M. Coetzee's work. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

'Disgrace': Behind The Scenes
Cast and Crew Interviews
Theatrical Trailer