The Treatment (2006)

Directed by: Oren Rudavsky | 86 minutes | drama, comedy, romance | Actors: Chris Eigeman, Famke Janssen, Ian Holm, Stephanie March, Peter Vack, Griffin Newman, Josh Barclay Caras, Matt Stadelmann, Lindsay Johnson, Roger Rees, Stepen Lang, Thomas Bubka, Maddie Corman, Stephen Lee Anderson, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, Elizabeth Hubbard, Ellen Maguire, Peter Hermann, Paul Sparks, Angela Bullock, Marceline Hugot, Harris Yulin, Iraida Polanco, Blair Brown, Paula Mandel, Dennis Pressey, Anthony Trombetta

Between millions of devouring blockbusters, Famke Janssen likes to slow down and play in a simple earthly movie. After all the X-Men violence, the actress chose a subdued role in the indie film ‘The Treatment’. And guess what? Famke comes into its own much better in modest relationship dramas.

‘The Treatment’ revolves around Jake Singer, a young teacher whose private life is quite chaotic. His ex-girlfriend is engaged and Jake can’t get over it. Things are not going well between him and his father and he has not yet dealt with the death of Jake’s mother. On the advice of his ex, Singer decides to see a psychiatrist. The shrink, however, is one of the old-fashioned and in no time our anti-hero is drawn into the twisted world of Freud. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Jake runs into the beautiful widow Allegra (Janssen). A relationship gradually develops, but what about all that unprocessed suffering? If you fancy a small-scale story about ordinary people with recognizable problems, ‘The Treatment’ is an interesting choice. This indie film is supported by strong acting, a few funny jokes and a realistic look at the struggles that come with life. True happiness and bite-sized solutions are not offered to solve problems. The main characters drag themselves through life with all its ups and downs.

Ian Holm is the show stealer. Like a somewhat strange psychic, he portrays an other-worldly man who smashes Freud’s fantasies (and all the associated sexual ambiguities) with a sledgehammer. Eigeman is the pivot of the story and he portrays the Singer who is at odds with himself in an empathetic way. The baggage he carries is neither too light nor too heavy, so that ‘The Treatment’ never becomes a heavy depri-drama, but also never gets bogged down in a flat comedy. Janssen is charming and plays a good role as a widow with a turbulent past.

Strong acting, a light-hearted undertone and serious issues: fans of the better cinema should give ‘The Treatment’ a chance. As the slightly more serious version of ‘Dummy’ (another strong indie flick), Oren Rudavsky’s film has become a beautiful ode to self-reliance and love. So nice and sweet.