O Tratamento

A difficult film to sit through due to the subject matter it handles pedophilia, incest, assault, and murder, the Treatment is as hard-hitting as it can get. It's best visualized as four episodes with intertwining characters and storylines - a) Inspector Cafmeyer's personal tragedy where his brother supposedly gets abducted by a next-door-pedophile, the fact that he's not been found, and how it haunts him 25 years later. b) The horrific Simons family incident where someone tortures them for days, abducts the couple's young boy and leaves him bitten & murdered in a park. c) A repeat of the earlier mentioned event for another family in the neighborhood. d) The big reveal & the finale.

Geert Van Rampelberg is stupendous as the emotionally broken but smart investigator Cafmeyer, who has to hold himself together as cases echoing his brother's disappearance start to pile up. The unraveling of clues is where The Treatment solidly delivers, some having connections to past events and some requiring a forensic elucidation. While I expected this film to go the typical serial-killer route, it both held my attention and made me fleetingly look away as the case(s) started delving deeper into an underground pedophile ring.

The Treatment is the kind of film where bodily fluids (of its helpless victims) can be sensed from afar. The graphic nature of the film lies rooted in its emotional weights, not the blood-letting. The tension is sustained well, and in fact, lingers in your mind long after the credits start to roll.

Some films get a "free pass" i.e. an IMDb rating of 7 or higher (which makes the film a must-watch) because of their subject matter. Any film which deals with difficult subject matter such as child abduction, molestation etc. will automatically pull at the heart strings so you can't really go wrong with them in terms of audience investment in the characters and the story.

Yes, this film is worth watching because you will of course be emotionally impacted (unless you have no feelings) but I've rated the film a 6 based on the merits of the production and writing etc. The film definitely has Hollywood's production quality and the main actors are charismatic if a little hollow.

My main gripe(s) with this film are: movie realism. It is an accepted fact that police officers ALWAYS go off the deep end and break ALL the rules to solve crimes and hell, normal people would too! If I were confronting a paedophile and trying to get information, they'd at least lose a few fingers before I would give up - what the hell is this guy doing? There are so many scenes where you're expecting the lead guy to do something above and beyond to get what he needs but he doesn't and it's so frustrating! and unbelievable! Not just in movie land but in the real world too! Frankly, this guy's police work and deduction skills are appalling (not the actor's fault of course). There was one particular word which connected things but it made no sense that ALL the kids would be using the same word... why?! Did the guy have this word tattooed on his forehead or something??

Too many times I had to go 'urgh, as if' at the screen and the ending was infuriating. ¡It's not exactly Fort Knox though is it!

So it's worth watching just because of the subject matter... except it's not is it? Because the subject matter is revolting.

Truth be told, up until things started to get ridiculous, I would have recommended watching this film but now that I've seen the whole thing, I'm not going to. I still give it a 6 for the production quality and the acting and the (unfortunately) emotional storyline but take the latter out and it's just a glossy Hollywood type film with a lot of flaws in the story telling.

6/10

The Treatment or originally "de Behandeling" is adapted from a serial novel by Mo Hayder with the help of screenwriter Carl Joos and beautifully directed by Hans Herbots.

The film opens with a flashback; two boys are walking alongside train track while a deep and melancholic voice reads letters aloud from a pedophile who claims to have kidnapped and killed one of the children. The letters are addressed to our main protagonist Nick Cafmeyer (Geert Van Rampelberg) and speak of his younger brother, now missing for 25 years.

In the present, Nick, a detective, faced with a case where a mother and father are found brutally tortured and their son is missing. Nick's determination to solve this case grows more and more personal as his pursuit of the truth borders on unhealthily obsessive. Could it be connected with his brother's unsolved kidnapping?

The Treatment is an expertly crafted mind-bender. The film seems to taunt and toy with the audience's anticipations and run it in circles to match our perplexity to Nick's confusion. The cinematography and score are very effective in shaping the mood and aiding in the psychological effect of this film. It's an intellectual piece and will definitely be enjoyed more by the audience who likes to think and not simply be guided by exposition. In fact, this film has very little exposition at all which is a precious attribute to have.

There are elements that were reminiscent of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, True Detective Season One, and Prisoners, perhaps most of all due to its brutally dark subject matter. Overall this picture is a very gritty and engaging story. You'll be trying to follow along, often times drawing the same conclusions as the characters only to be proved wrong time and time again. Much like as in life, The Treatment leaves doesn't simply hand us the answers.

The Treatment is a captivating and wholly original film adaptation of the most sinister persuasion. Evoking sentiments of unease and dread, it is unlike any American film and may be difficult for some to watch.

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One of the best and most intense movies I have seen in a long time.

Martyrs (2008) comes to mind but this is much less gory and more psychological but probably as many twists and turns. Funny Games (1997) and its excellent remake also come to mind. The story develops gracefully, which is an odd word to use for a movie like this but I think the writing, the acting and the pace developed a flow that kept me along for the ride the entire time. It kept me guessing and thinking and I love movies that can do that for me. It is very disturbing subject matter so be warned. Not everyone will like this or even be able to watch it. It is not "literally" graphic but it is very emotionally graphic. I would like to only recommend this movie to those who enjoy dark films but this is such a well made movie I feel it deserves a larger audience. Just great cinema if you can challenge yourself to get past the subject matter. Strap in and go along for the ride. For me, it was one of those movies that I literally said "WOW" when the credits rolled.

Bare with me as this is my first review.

This is a film of the British author Mo Hayder's book of the same title. Having read the book I was aware of the uneasy subject matter. It is a difficult watch and content is extremely dark. but that said overall the film was very good. For those who haven't read the book i feel will be in suspense and hooked throughout, right the way to the climax at the end.I was very impressed with the acting especially the lead, who carried off the angst ridden detective extremely well.

The production values were high. The direction of the film was in keeping with the story being told with its solemn photography and use of lighting. It is definitely not your average film and I am not sure it would appeal to the average cinema goer, but i would highly recommend it. Even more so if you haven't read the book.

My only gripe, and it is only small, is that certain things were left out from the book, which would of enhanced this film but I guess that is down to time/budget constraints.

Lastly I would like to commend the director for taking on this film, being a fan of the Mo Hayder series of books involving this detective I can only hope someone else will take one of the other books. I thought maybe it might get picked up as a series like wire in the blood.