80
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
Special Treatment is a serious film, but Labrune allows a touch of dark comedy in her depictions of Alice's clients and Xavier's patients.
Special Treatment (Sans queue ni tête)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- France,
- Luxembourg,
- Belgium
- 2010
- · 95m
Director
Jeanne Labrune
Cast
Isabelle Huppert,
Bouli Lanners,
Richard Debuisne,
Valérie Dréville,
Mathieu Carrière,
Didier Bezace
Genre
Comedy,
Drama
When a disaffected call girl named Alice encounters Xavier, a psychiatrist with a crumbling domestic situation, the two soon realize that their professions share some striking parallels – both have clients, charge for sessions, and take on roles to serve others’ needs.
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What are critics saying?
75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
At the end, there is no great revelation, but Huppert has succeeded once again in making us wonder what's going on in there.
70
Chicago Reader by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
Though the parallels drawn between therapy and prostitution grow tiresome, the duo's interaction is peppered with inspired comedic moments.
67
The A.V. Club
French drama Special Treatment draws a brazenly provocative parallel between the professions of psychiatry and prostitution.
67
The A.V. Club by Alison Willmore
French drama Special Treatment draws a brazenly provocative parallel between the professions of psychiatry and prostitution.
63
Slant Magazine
A portrait of gender-and job-transcending ennui, Special Treatment paints a vulgar picture of two apparently interwoven professions: prostitutes and shrinks.
63
Slant Magazine by Michael Nordine
A portrait of gender-and job-transcending ennui, Special Treatment paints a vulgar picture of two apparently interwoven professions: prostitutes and shrinks.
50
Village Voice by Ernest Hardy
That's why Special Treatment is so disheartening. The film, starring Huppert, quickly telegraphs that its ideas are too shallow for a talent as deep as hers.
50
Variety
Again co-written by and co-starring writer-thesp Richard Debuisne, picture has some of the duo's trademark sharp dialogue but again fails to fully come together on a narrative level.
50
Variety by Boyd van Hoeij
Again co-written by and co-starring writer-thesp Richard Debuisne, picture has some of the duo's trademark sharp dialogue but again fails to fully come together on a narrative level.
40
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
A story that should have been a taut poker-faced French farce that pushed its premise to the brink of absurdity stalls, unsure of its balance between comedy and drama. The movie's one reliable constant is Ms. Huppert. You can't take your eyes off her, even when she is misused and misdirected.
40
Time Out by David Fear
Director Jeanne Labrune (Vatel) makes the most out of having a compellingly watchable movie star at her disposal, but neither some odd stabs at humor nor Huppert's versatility do much to enliven what's essentially a superficially sexed-up soufflé.
40
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
With neither great insight nor any sign of wit, the film is not likely to capture interest outside France.
20
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
As clichés trot through their sessions - it's like "In Treatment" as bedroom farce - we check out. Huppert, though, is as fearless as ever.
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