Tackling as ambiguous and unsympathetic, not to say brilliant, a novel as J. M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize-winning Disgrace is only for the foolhardy. But Steve Jacobs does it remarkable justice, partly for his dedication to the book’s uneasy portrayal of post-apartheid South Africa, but in the main because he cast John Malkovich. The actor’s unique presence, a form of reptilian grace, makes perfect sense of the poetry professor ‘disgraced’ after a manipulative affair with a student.
Holing up with his daughter (Jessica Haines) deep in the Veldt, a violent attack by locals will expose him to the festering notion of accountability that still afflicts his country. It’s the kind of unyielding complexity Oscar never fathoms.