The Treatment

I don’t know if I could imagine a more sickening and depraved crime than the one committed by this film’s paedophile psycho – actually, for the sake of my own peace of mind, I’d rather not try. The director never shows it explicitly, we only hear being spoken about or we see unsettling scenes through a crack in the wall, etc., so the imagination can work at full steam… and it’s awful. Pure darkness, and on top of that, the film is PERFECTLY shot and acted. Hands down, the best pure psycho-thriller with the most despicable villain in recent years. It affected me more than last year’s (thematically quite similar) The Prisoners, and even comparisons with cult movies like Seven are not as wide off the mark as some would expect. If you like this genre, don’t hesitate. Belgium has surprised. (06/21/2014)

I understand the enthusiasm about this movie after having watched it, but its brutal gloom, insincerity and impersonality combined with zero emotions towards the main investigator character made it difficult for me to even finish the movie at all. A very harsh (even in human terms disgusting) story takes place in a dark gray environment where there’s nothing positive and cannot ever be. What can I say, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. However, I admit that Belgium surprised me to come up with such a movie. (08/08/2016)

It's good, but not without caveats. There are lines and motifs left unresolved and with a question mark, not by design, but because the script is either lazy or incapable of explaining them. Part of the film fulfills the detective template in a rather mechanical style, with long alternating interviews with the victims and deliberately not going as far as it should. The ambiguous supporting characters are used to delay the climax, and sometimes it's quite confusing why the director characterises them in this way (a paedophile peeping underwater in a swimming pool). And the rhythm in which all the characters appear on the stage is not quite in sync either – it takes an unnaturally long time to develop a single photograph, for example. But in terms of atmosphere, complexity of psychological and emotional relationships and build-up, there's not much to complain about. The title character is superbly acted and written, and is definitely one of the most convincingly brooding detective hounds far and wide. And since I think the story was about his fierce determination, I remain positive and will gladly add a fourth star. Although I confess I'd love to see a polished Hollywood remake by Fincher. 70 % (04/16/2022)

I'm terribly pleased to see this film being compared to Se7en, since despite a few similarities – notably the lighting, the ritualistic appearance of the crime scene, the tired desperation of the characters, and basically even the point of the perpetrator’s acts – it’s a tad more challenging of an experience, which will leave those looking for "a whodunit for the evening" may well find themselves cringing at for a long time to come. The grey heaviness of the suburban setting, the impenetrability of the suspects, the constantly pissed off and therefore often irrational protagonist solving crimes pretty much off the leash, the running time of over two hours... well, it’s nothing you'll be telling your parents about at family dinner. But The Treatment scores the most points for constantly passing the baton of evidence as to who the perpetrator could be and for having a fairly decent pair of balls, among other things. Also, I haven't seen such a detailed observation of a tortured child in a film in quite a while. (07/01/2014)

Cruel in its subject, no doubt about it. Pedophilia is a terrifying topic. Here, they managed to combine it with a truly chilling atmosphere, where you are afraid that you will see more than you wanted. And perhaps you will. Still, at times, I felt that it was too calculated and that, in some cases, longer shots without cuts would have been more appropriate. Not speaking Dutch, I would think it is an American movie. But it is a more intense experience than "Gone Girl". Not necessarily a better film though. (07/18/2014)