Movie Notes: The Treatment

September 20th, 2008

= 3 stars

Starring Chris Eigeman, Famke Janssen, Ian Holm
Directed by Oren Rudavsky

Synopsis

English teacher Jake Singer (Chris Eigeman) works out his intimacy issues with psychiatrist Dr. Morales (Ian Holm) when he meets widow Allegra (Famke Janssen), in the process of adopting a young girl after the death of her husband.

The Good

• After seeing a litany of relationship flicks with ridiculous, cookie cutter characters, here’s one with real people and genuine problems. They’re older and dealing with issues of marriage and children.
• The acting is solid all around — Janssen is genuine, Holm adds some needed daffiness, and Eigeman carries the whole movie on his shoulders. I’d seen him before on Gilmore Girls but he’s likely unknown to the mainstream.

The Bad

• Unfortunately, there isn’t much drama to give these great characters much to do. The relationship doesn’t hit any huge bumps for quite some time, and even when it does, they are bumps to merely walk over. The film’s second failing is frankly, Jake is so reasonably well adjusted and likable it’s not clear why he’s seeing a shrink in the first place.
• Based on a novel, there are some literary references that would likely explain more, but I’m not particularly motivated to look them up.

Conclusion

Three strong performances, if at times snooze-inducing. But based on the acting alone, I found it a decent rental.

IMDB: The Treatment
Rotten Tomatoes: The Treatment 68%