Special Treatment (2010) Sans queue ni tête (original title)

Director:

Jeanne Labrune

Writers:

Richard Debuisne
Jeanne Labrune

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Drawing some intriguing parallels between the work of the prostitute and that of the psychiatrist-both have clients...

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | Diary | Cigarette | Psychoanalyst | Transsexual

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Alice Bergerac
Bouli Lanners	...	Xavier Demestre
Sabila Moussadek	...	Juliette
Richard Debuisne	...	Pierre Cassagne
Valérie Dréville	...	Hélène Demestre
Mathieu Carrière	...	Robert Masse
Didier Bezace	...	L'homme heureux et triste
Frédéric Longbois	...	Le travesti
Christophe Odent	...	Le collectionneur de pipes
Jean-François Wolff	...	Le client pédophile
Gilles Cohen	...	L'homme violent
Frédéric Pierrot	...	François Briand
Karim Leklou	...	Bruno
Christophe Lambert	...	Olive
Vincent Lecuyer	...	Le chapelier de l'évêque
Valérie Bodson	...	Elisabeth
Serge Hutry	...	Le commissaire-priseur
Patricia Miroy	...	La vendeuse
Anne Fournier	...	La caissière
Hélène Moor	...	La concierge hôtel
Fabienne Mainguet	...	La secrétaire hôpital
Nicolas Leroy	...	L'employé hôpital
Nathalie Kutzner	...	L'infirmière psychiatrique
Mohamed Ouachen	...	Le livreur
Marcos Adamantiadis	...	Le guide
Leonardo Rivillo	...	Le vigile club
Paolo Signorini	...	L'homme à la torche
Nicole Legros	...	Béatrice
Malika Benhadj	...	La femme au cochon
Hélène Herrmann	...	La religieuse
Rafaële Chauvin	...	La mariée
Yero Mbow	...	L'amant de la mariée
Marine Drouhet	...	La femme sur la croix
Alice Fenwick	...	La femme en robe rouge
Slimane Kacioui	...	Joueur de dés 1
Grégory Corre	...	Joueur de dés 2
Rodolphe Guilloux	...	Joueur de dés 3
Kastrat Hasaj	...	Joueur de dés 4
Hakim Attia	...	Joueur de dés 5
Hugo Lalire	...	Joueur de dés 6

Directed by
Jeanne Labrune

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Debuisne
Jeanne Labrune

Produced by
Jani Thiltges	....	producer
Serge Zeitoun	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Virginie Saint-Martin

Film Editing by
Anja Lüdcke

Casting by
Aurélie Guichard

Set Decoration by
Regine Constant

Makeup Department
Patrick Girault	....	key hair stylist
Antje Huchel	....	makeup artist
Thi-Loan Nguyen	....	makeup artist
Katja Reinert-Alexis	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Aurore Benoit	....	unit manager (as Aurore Benoît)
Jérôme Briand	....	assistant production manager
Sylvie Demaizière	....	unit manager
Brigitte Kerger-Santos	....	production manager
Audrey Legendre	....	assistant unit manager
Sabrina Seillier	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matthieu Blanchard	....	first assistant director
Olivier Coutard	....	pre-production assistant director
Camille Guyot	....	third assistant director
Gary Lebel	....	third assistant director
Gaëtan Leboutte	....	third assistant director
Christine Marrou	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Lydia Cettiga	....	painter
Thomas Ferrandis	....	carpenter
Claude Petit	....	painter
Tiziana Raffaelli	....	painter
Alberto Sebastiani	....	head painter

Sound Department
Fred Demolder	....	sound editor
Valène Leroy	....	dialogue editor
Luc Thomas	....	sound re-recording mixer
Carlo Thoss	....	production sound mixer
Philippe van Leer	....	foley artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Gauthier Berlaimont	....	electrician
Stéphane Boissier	....	video assistant
Renaud Charlier	....	additional grip
Stéphane Donnerup	....	video assist
Olivier Godaert	....	gaffer
Bertrand Monette	....	additional electrician
Patrick Muller	....	still photographer
Julien Pamart	....	second assistant camera
Jérôme Prébois	....	photographer: poster
Thierry Ramanana	....	grip
Jean-François Roqueplo	....	key grip
Honoré Soubrie	....	grip
Edwin Van Den Hove	....	additional grip
Richard Vidal	....	electrician

Casting Department
Michaël Bier	....	casting: Belgium
Doriane Flamand	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Claire Fraisse	....	costume supervisor
Eugenia Giesbrecht	....	daily costume assistant

Editorial Department
Paul Maas	....	assistant editor
David Magalhaes	....	telecine dailies colorist

Transportation Department
Gaby Meyers	....	facility/truck driver
Paolo Signorini	....	transportation

Other crew
Nicolas Babilon	....	assistant: unit manager
Patrick Blocman	....	location manager
Elsa Pardo	....	administrator
Jessica Reavis	....	production coordinator
Emilie Renault	....	production assistant
Antoine Richy	....	production assistant
Emmanuel Van Melkebeke	....	legal counsel

Production Companies

• Liaison Cinématographique (co-production)
• Samsa Film (co-production)
• Artémis Productions (co-production)
• Art-Light Productions (co-production)
• Canal+ (support)
• CinéCinéma (support)
• Fonds National de Soutien à la Production Audiovisuelle du Luxembourg (support)
• Région Wallone (support)
• Bruxelles Capitale (support)
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne (support) (funding)
• Banque Postale Image 3, La (in association with)
• Banque Populaire Images 10 (in association with)
• Soficinéma 6 (in association with)
• Taxshelter. be (in association with)
• Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF) (in coproduction with)

Distributors

• Rézo Films (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• First Run Features (2011) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Melsa Films (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Cinemax (2011) (Hungary) (TV)

Other Companies

• Location Consulting & Facilities  facility vehicles
• Philophon  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Sans queue ni tête" - France (original title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

France | Luxembourg | Belgium

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Hong Kong:III (film festival rating) | USA:Unrated

Company:

Liaison Cinématographique

Great performances and beautiful cinematography can't save this good, but ultimately underwhelming black comedy

Alice Bergerac (Isabelle Huppert) is a upper-class prostitute who 'specialises' in role playing for businessmen in order to pay for certain antique items she enjoys collecting. Xavier Demestre (Bouli Lanners) is an uptight, angry psychoanalyst whose marriage is falling apart. These two end up crossing paths, and changing each others lives for the better. What appears to be a very promising film about the relationship between psychoanalysis and prostitution ends up being very underwhelming and unsure of itself.

The similarities drawn between the two professions are not subtle, with the patient/client interactions and payment methods all much the same. The performances in these scenes, and generally across the board are fantastic. Huppert is particularly good, especially in the second half as we witness her question her career and future. It is the characterisation and story that are the weak points, as there are many sub-plots and characters throughout, all of which could have been taken fascinating directions, but none feel fleshed out or even completed. The film ends in a very conventional manner, and by this time it feels like we have seen a series of disjointed scenes rather than a proper film.

Unfortunately, there are many good ideas here, and technically the film is fantastic. The score creates an interesting, almost menacing atmosphere throughout, and the film is shot beautifully, but there is not enough story for this movie to be anything other than a bit above average.

3/5