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The Treatment (2006)

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21 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Warm film with clever dialogue. A smart romantic comedy., 22 August 2006

Author: Dave Baird from Edinburgh

"The Treatment" is a very well acted romantic comedy that relies on clever dialogue rather than outlandish set-pieces to deliver the laughs.

The story is simple enough - Teacher Jake befriends the young widowed mother of a student and then falls for her. Things are complicated by their different social standings, the fact that Allegra is still grieving for her recently dead husband, and Jake's visits to his psychoanalyst.

The lead actors are all excellent, but Ian Holm's character gets all the best lines in the movie as a nasty psychoanalyst trying to 'help' Jake Singer (Chris Eigeman) stop undermining his own relationships.

Famke Janssen is very, very good in this movie and her performance was my favourite of the piece. Considering the other works I've seen her in I was blown away to discover she was such a good actress.

This is a warm, funny movie that I could happily watch again.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Sharp, unpredictable and sweet too, 11 September 2006

Author: The Visitor from Edinburgh, Scotland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Each to his own, but I'm really surprised at the review above.

I also saw this in Edinburgh (it's where I live, and incidentally the Edinburgh Film Festival was the best ever this year for me).

The film I saw was cute, funny and unpredictable. There are some lovely unexpected moments. Without giving too much away... it's a relief to see a script dispense with the old "lie piled upon lie" cliché and instead have characters who decide to live up to their responsibilities. If you thought you would never get to see a New York intellectuals film in which grown-ups behave like grown-ups for once - well, here's your chance.

There are also some great lines. It's impossible not to smile at Ian Holm's vaguely monomaniacal therapist intoning, in his Argentinian accent, "once you start driving ass-backward through life, it can be very hard to stop. And you realise too late that the major decisions in your life are lying in the road like so many crushed squirrels." This is possibly my favourite therapist quote since Ingrid Bergman was told in Spellbound to have "sweet dreams - and tomorrow we will analyse them over breakfast." Ian Holm makes the part work perfectly because he doesn't overdo it.

You end up feeling affection for both the therapist and his client, even though they are at odds. This is one of the film's best qualities. Secondary characters get a chance to develop, so for instance the father is not just an old tartar and the mother-in-law not just a disapproving snoop. What's most evident in this film is the writer's sympathy for almost every character, so that whether or not they are redeemed, you find yourself seeing their point of view, if just in momentary flashes. I loved this.

Meanwhile, Famke Janssen gets a rare chance to act, and lives up to it.

The sweet thing about this film is that it isn't slavishly Woody Allen, or pointedly anti-Woody Allen either. It plays as if Woody Allen never existed. This means that there are no weary inevitabilities. Anything might happen (and frequently doesn't, because something else intriguing happens instead).

It doesn't all work, but I've only got minor gripes. Overall, it could have done with being just a little longer, to make some of the secondary relationships more convincing. But erring on the side of keeping it short was probably the smarter mistake to make.

If you get a chance to see this, go. Decide for yourself which review gets it right.

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14 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
Nice idea, but not an engrossingly enough delivery for a feature film, 27 August 2006

Author: Chris Docker (eyeforfilm) from Scotland, United Kingdom

The Treatment describes itself as 'a serious romantic comedy about life and love in NYC.' The main characters are Jake Singer, an anxious young schoolteacher who has broken up with his girlfriend and seems resigned to a life of mediocrity; his shrink, Dr Ernesto Morales (Ian Holm), who describes himself as the last great Freudian - 'in a line stretching from Moses to Aristotle;' and Allegra Marshall, a beautiful young socialite that takes a fancy to him.

The film aims at a serious note with the unrelenting, intrusive and almost sadistic treatment meted out by Dr Morales. Jake's baggage is all too obvious and (although there must be easier routes) the 'treatment' does show signs of working, even when Jake starts wondering if he has maybe just 'hallucinated' the encounters. A sub-plot about adoption tries to bring in some emotional ballast to fill the chasm left by Jake and Allegra's lack of on-screen chemistry.

The Treatment meanders along like an episode of Sex and the City or Frasier - only where nothing much happens. At first captivating, the endless litany of inconsequential detail and forced humour soon begins to wear. "I thought he was supposed to make you feel more comfortable in your own skin," says Allegra about Jake's analyst. "No, he's more the exfoliating type." In discussing one of Jake's favourite books, Allegra quotes a comment about the author re-drawing the landscape to place equal emphasis on what's not said. Sadly, this film has too much that is said; and that which is not said has too little substance to justify the barely relevant meanderings of school sports halls or Dr Morales' questions about sexual positions. Ian Holm delivers a fine performance, but the script, while not completely without merit, has too little to for such a great actor to get his teeth into. We are told that the lover in Jake is under-nourished and the self-pitying side over-fed: much the same could be said of this bloated, drawn-out and not particularly engaging film.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth Seeing, 4 May 2008

Author: Richard_vmt from California, United States

I grabbed this off the shelf without much thought but was generally pleased with it as a selection. It is the story of a single Manhattan high school teacher who is in psychotherapy. The film makes good use of fantasy by startling us with

imaginary interventions by his extraordinarily aggressive and ribald therapist at dramatic junctures during his day.

While the leading character, Jake, has experienced a romantic disappointment in an earlier relationship, the main thrust of his therapy seems directed at a battle against mediocrity. Apparently, a successful career as a high school teacher does not count as success. Apparently also, the elderly therapist considers a year without sex a major red flag. But apart from these shortcomings, Jake seems to conduct himself cautiously but extremely well, leaving me wondering about the correctness of the film's assessment of him.

This film does a good job of representing older people, for example the therapist and Jake's father, as well as others, as something else besides useless. Here they are accepted enough to assert themselves, their intelligence is respected and occasionally heeded.

The plot held my attention through its twists and turns. Two point I felt were a lapse into hackneyed stereotypes involved the feminism of his lover, Allegra. To begin with, she initiates the first sex (even though things seemed to be proceeding apace) and routinely assumes the aggressive role after that as well. I questioned whether this would really be cool in real life. I suppose this could be taken as the otherwise lacking evidence of his neurosis except that it is all her actions.

Secondly, after they have had frequent and mutually gratifying sex, get along great, he is well on his way to being accepted by her two children, and to cap it all she is about to lose her young daughter because the adoption stipulated a two-parent household-- with all this in play she rejects a heartfelt proposal of marriage because she is 'not ready' just a year after becoming a widow. These two facts might suggest that she, a rich woman, was using him as a convenience. However, the rest of her character as portrayed does not support that at all. Instead the flick is merely waving a PC flag of liberated woman-- even when it is absurd-- to garner brownie points.

Ultimately however, all such complexity of living is suddenly swept away in a traditional happily-ever-after romantic ending--but one so hasty that I definitely felt they had run out of film. I don't want to sound like I would entirely re-engineer the film, but I definitely feel it was going somewhere else.

But these are lapses in authenticity in a film notable for authenticity. It is an engaging and often quite funny flick.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Analyze This!: Literate rom-dramedy with stand out work by Eigeman & Janssen., 25 May 2007

Author: george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) from fairview, nj

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

THE TREATMENT (2007) *** Chris Eigeman, Famke Janssen, Ian Holm, Stephanie March, Stephan Lang, Blair Brown, Harris Yulin, Roger Rees. (Dir: Oren Rudavsky)

Analyze This!: Literate rom-dramedy with stand out work by Eigeman & Janssen.

Jake Singer (Eigeman), a New York City prep school literature instructor, is in a state of flux. After a bad break-up (is there any other kind?) he runs into his ex, Julia (March of NBC's "Law & Order SVU") and opens his fresh wounds to the fact she has moved on and gotten engaged. Awkwardly he accepts her invite to an engagement dinner. This adds fuel to his fire with his visit to his passive/aggressive Argentina émigré analyst Dr. Morales (Holm), whose demeanor suggests his patient is only to blame for all his shortcomings.

While Jake stews with his domestic dilemma he's busy juggling an extracurricular activity as the school basketball team's statistician who has been attempting to mentor one of the temperamental players, a good kid who is struggling with his skills and the brow- beating by their jerk coach (Lang), who tells Jake to butt out of his methods. On top of that he is jockeying for a summer sabbatical to London for the school by making good with the headmaster (Rees) at a get-together dinner held at a trustees' widow's home.

The recent widow, Allegra Marshall (the gorgeous Janssen, best known as Jane Grey from the "X-MEN" film franchise, in one of her best performances to date), is also in a state of flux dealing with her grief at the loss of her husband, the victim of a sudden heart attack, leaving her to care for their young, impressionable son and a toddler they were in line for adopting (she has failed to report his death to the agency negotiating the legalities).

Jake is smitten with the hostess – at first unknowing she is a widow – and begins to take interest in her and her family. Before he knows it he is hooking up with her and when she makes her confession he is at first shocked – and then relieved – since all his flirting has paid off. Naturally he is scolded by Morales.

The couple gingerly eke out their newfound relationship but soon find an awkward bump when the adoption agent (Blair) makes an unexpected visit to see the welfare of the progress of the bonding between the child and the impeding parents-to-be.

Based on a novel by Daniel Menaker, Daniel Saul Housman's screenplay is literate and charming but problematic only when it uses the narrative device of the therapist to act as a surrogate conscience to Jake, popping in here and there as an unseen noodge. Rudavsky, a documentary filmmaker making his first foray as a feature film director, stumbles a little bit in some flatfooted staging, but is acquitted by the fine acting by his leads.

Eigeman, best known for his brainy, WASPy turns in Wilt Stillman and Noah Baumbach films (and if they ever did a live-action adaptation of the ARCHIE comics would be a top choice as Reggie!) , comes across as a latter- day Charles Grodin, a sardonic scold whose witty banter and cosmopolitan airs belie his insecurities, does a fine job imbuing the uncertainties and neuroses of his character that has shades of a Woody Allen manqué, but he also has some good nuanced choices in his phrasings and facial expressions underscoring the dialogue given.

Janssen proves to be a fine counterpoint, a glammed-down statuesque gal out of his league, but not entirely unlikely soul mate. She is an underused and underrated actress; this proves she can do so much with so little.

An indie sleeper that should be sought out for those who like their rom-dramedies with wit and sex appeal.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Magnificent Movie great acting all round!, 22 April 2007

Author: kingyshtd

the trailers for "The Treatment" were kinda crappy but the movie is something else entirely this is a movie that is much better than its trailer suggest it's Light hearted and funny with a lot of substance it isn't at all cheesy or dark . the acting is truly amazing we have three unmatchable leading actors Chris Eigeman ,Ian Holm and Famke Janssen all three give some of their best work here..the movie is smart and funny and the ending leaves the Dr Morales bit open is he real or just a figment of Chris Eigeman's imagination? watch this one in theatres fans of any Famke , Ian and Chris will not be disappointed no matter how high their expectations.

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a romantic comedy that doesn't insult its audience, 20 August 2008

Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States

Commitment-phobic characters are a dime a dozen in romantic comedies. Yet, no one can deny that they serve a valid function - for without all the tension they bring to the story, how would writers ever get us to that inevitable happy ending? In "The Treatment," which director Oren Rudavsky co-adapted (with Daniel Saul Housman) from the novel by Daniel Menaker, Jake Singer is an English teacher at a Manhattan prep school who falls in love with a wealthy widow whose son is a pupil there. The problem is that Jake, like many men of his generation, seems utterly paralyzed when it comes to taking the full-on plunge into commitment and marriage. In an attempt to overcome this weakness, he regularly sees a shrink who is clearly an advocate of the no-nonsense, "tough love" school of psychotherapy, and who keeps insisting that Jake stop whining and making excuses for himself and simply get with the program.

On the surface, "The Treatment" doesn't appear to be much different from dozens of other romantic comedies that have come our way over the years, but the scenario plays out with so much charm and wit that it makes the situation itself seem new and fresh. We really get caught up in the lives of these characters, mainly because the filmmakers go to great lengths to avoid the superficialities and clichés that render so many romantic comedies phony and unreal. The film is helped immeasurably in this regard by the superb performances by Chris Eigeman and Famke Janssen who have an amazing chemistry on screen and, thus, are able to convince us that these two quite different people could indeed be genuinely drawn to one another. Ian Holm steals every scene he's in as the hilariously deadpan therapist who isn't afraid to say what he thinks, even at those times when he's only appearing as a figment of Jake's guilt-ridden imagination. Harris Yulin is also wonderful as Jake's pragmatic father who still harbors resentment towards his son for not following in his footsteps and becoming a doctor.

Given its low budget, the movie may be a trifle rough around the edges at times, but that lack of polish actually turns out to be a key ingredient in the movie's overall success. For once, a romantic comedy that actually works.

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An average movie for older educated people, 25 July 2008

Author: siderite from Romania

It involves romance between romantically experienced people. They are intelligent, articulated, educated and their greatest concerns are more complex than just "getting together". They are above 35, they have children and past baggage, complicated lives and still they crave love, like any other primate.

Ian Holm is the spice of the movie. I would venture to say that without him the entire thing would have been a fiasco. It's not that the other actors don't act well, but their roles are so bland and uninteresting. Even the obvious intelligence of the lead male character has only an intellectual academic form and the emotional chemistry is rather poorly expressed.

Overall it is above the average romcom, but average towards weak in its category. Since the target audience is older educated people, it should have had more spunk and a lot more brains.

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5 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Just not enough, 28 April 2007

Author: theluke311 from Los Angeles, United States

Somewhere between adaptation and shooting, the magic leaped out of this film. The synopsis looked promising and it could have delivered, but it seems that poor casting choices and spotty dialog made it fall short. The leading man isn't quite convincing on film. His technique feels more fit for stage, but when on screen you see an actor and not a character. Famke Janssen and Ian Holm are the two bright spots in the nigh hour-and-a-half feature. Holm was the one actor who garnered a laugh. But they both seem out of place, heavy hitters in a smaller film. It could be that a bigger star was set to play Chris, but dropped out, leaving the film with less studio support while Famke and Ian stayed on. This film has gone on to win some festival awards, which makes me wonder if I missed something, or was simply not in the right mood for the film. Nevertheless, it could have been much, much better.

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