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DISGRACE
Australia/South Africa 2008 (MA)

David Lurie (John Malkovich), twice-divorced and dissatisfied with his job as an English professor in post-apartheid South Africa, finds his life falling apart. When he seduces one of his students, Melanie (Antoinette Engel) and does nothing to protect himself from the consequences, he is dismissed from his teaching position, and goes to live with his lesbian daughter Lucy (Jessica Haines), who shares a farm in the Eastern Cape with trusted black worker Petrus (Eric Ebouaney). For a time, his daughter's influence and natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting. In the aftermath of a vicious attack by three black youths, he is forced to come to terms with the changes in society - as well as his disgrace.
Review by Louise Keller:
Desire and its consequences are at the heart of this complex drama that has the power to shred us emotionally. Based on the Booker prize winning novel by J.M. Coetzee, this is the kind of film that knocks you for a loop. It surprises at every turn, takes you where you least expect to be taken and twists a knife into your heart just after you think you have endured the worst of it. Directed and adapted by the husband and wife team who brought us the quirky and accessible La Spagnola in 2001, Steve Jacobs and Anna-Maria Monticelli have a profound grasp of the subject matter, resulting in a mature, thought provoking work that resonates. Subconsciously, the film throbs with truth as we find ourselves sinking deeper and deeper in a quagmire of redemption, acceptance and reconciliation reflecting the South African divide.
When we first meet John Malkovich's lust-driven University professor David Lurie, we quickly understand his philosophy that there are more important things in life than being prudent. He teaches romantic poetry and listens to classical music, while lust fuels his leisure time. Disgrace is the result of his liaison with his student Melanie (Antoinette Engel). But that is just the beginning of the journey. We take a sharp right hand turn as David drives through the distinctively barren South African terrain to the remote farm where his lesbian daughter Lucy (Jessica Haines) lives. The harsh reality of daily life begins, where desire is examined from a converse point of view. Rape and the confrontation of an unfathomable cultural mindset start life spinning as fast as the hubcaps of the pickup trucks on the desolate, dusty roads.
Malkovich is one of those actors who cannot help but carry loads of gravitas. Here, as always, he is brilliantly credible as a severely flawed man forced to learn the reality of the poetry he teaches. ('One who goes to teach learns the keenest of lessons; one who goes to learn, learns nothing'). Haines gives a staggering performance as Jessica, the strong woman who makes tough decisions as her comfort zone crumbles as she loses everything, while Eriq Ebouaney is striking as Jessica's neighbour Petrus, whose life philosophies must be accepted. There are two especially devastating moments in this film and they arrive unexpectedly. The first is the scene in which Malkovich is crying: we see him as from the back of a car carrying unusual cargo. The second is at the animal shelter, where David helps Bev (Fiona Press) in the heartbreaking task of dealing with unclaimed dogs. Special mention to Antony Partos' exceptional score which accentuates and tugs at our emotions and Steve Arnold's splendid cinematography which captures the starkness of the landscape. Disgrace is a powerful work and one that is not easily forgotten. Sadly, the resonance of life in South Africa feels only too real and familiar.

120 minutes
Classification: (MA) Violence, sex scenes, mature themes and coarse language

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THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
USA 2008 (M)

Chelsea (Sasha Grey) is a highly paid, high-end Manhattan call girl, who deliver not only than sex to her clients, but companionship, conversation and all the things one might expect from a real girlfriend. Chelsea thinks she is in control of her life with a secure future (earning $2,000 per hour) and devoted boyfriend Chris (Chris Santos), who accepts her lifestyle. But when you are in the business of meeting people, you never know who you will meet, nor will you know how you will feel.
Review by Louise Keller:
It's a bit like an unsatisfying sexual encounter - full of anticipation but not complete. One thing that does deliver, however, is 21 year old porn star Sasha Grey, who tantalises at every turn as the hooker who offers The Girlfriend Experience. Steven Soderbergh's typecasting is effective, but not for the reason you might think. Apart from a hint of nudity, there is no titillation, sex or eroticism. But Grey drips with on-screen presence and oodles of je ne sais quoi. She has confidence is spades and has an appealing vulnerability - until you catch the glint in her eyes, when we see a tough edge. But there is something about her that we want to discover. She knows what she's talking about - and it shows.
It's a curious film about sex, relationships, money and business thrown together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle in which timeframes are thrown together higgledy piggledy and which beyond its fly-on-the wall appeal, feels like an out of sequence snapshots and impressions. The fact that Soderbergh has set his film during five days during the lead up to the 2008 presidential elections, allows the financial concerns of the various characters and clients to flow naturally. Chelsea's jeweler client recommends investing in gold, rather than diamonds; a seedy 'Erotic Connoisseur' (I didn't know there was such a thing!) wants a freebie as payment for a glowing review to promote more business. A hustler is organizing a junket to Dubai where 'cash flows out of water faucets' ('It sounds like a white slavery ring, but it's not'). It's all about growing her business. Yes, the sex business.
What do men want for a Girlfriend Experience? 'They want what they want you to be', Chelsea says. 'If they wanted you to be yourself, they wouldn't be paying you.' It comes as somewhat of a shock that Chelsea has another life beyond the fantasies of her paying clients. Her live-in boyfriend Chris (Chris Santos), who works as a trainer at the gym reassures her she is the best at what she does, but there's a shift in Chelsea's confidence levels from the beginning of the film's journey. Soderbergh also shot and edited the film, giving it an often jerky feel that succeeds at making you feel that life is indeed a bumpy ride. When it all boils down, sex and money is what it's about. Needs and dreams have to fit in the cracks.

78 minutes
Classification: (M) Coarse language, sexual references and nudity