Isabelle Huppert plays Alice, a forty-something high-class prostitute who has become tiresome and numbed from her unorthodox profession. She decides to start seeing a Psychoanalyst in an attempt to find the strength to change careers. Parallel to Alice’s story, the film follows Xavier, played by popular French cult actor, Bouli Lanners. He is a psychoanalyst in the midst of separation from his wife. The film is certainly not subtle in its mission of uniting prostitution and psychiatry. Alice and Xavier meet and the battle of the patient/client scenario begin.
We witness both of these characters at work- The variety of both of their clients; Alice has a client who enjoys childish fetishes so she dresses up as a youth for him. Xavier has a cross dressing foul-mouthed client, the list continues. The film lacks the sophistication we see in most French films; there is neither poetic realism here nor chic filming. However the film has a beautiful score – At times it seems random, more appropriate for a thriller / drama film but it is capturing never the less.
The most irritating part of this film is that it begins portraying Alice as a heroic, independent woman, saving these businessmen from their dull lives by making their fantasies a reality and remaining untouched through this process. However as the film progresses, this image of Alice suddenly alters. Alice appears to be fragile, the liberation of Alice has been crushed and it is unsettling to witness. Throughout the film the audience expects to get to know Alice more – We are told through her meeting with another psychoanalyst that she studied History of Art at college and we already understand she has a passion for antiques.
The film shies away from the lead female character; instead on focusing on getting to the core of Alice, the focus remains shallow and meaningless only giving us hints of her vulnerability. The humour is also very flat; Special Treatment lacks any solid substance. Having said this, Huppert does give a brilliant performance; her witty comments engage the audience even if it is for a little while. The theme of role-play in both Psychiatry and Prostitution is also tackled well however it does start to wear thin towards the end of the film.
The problem with Special Treatment is that the screenplay and characters have not been developed enough – There is no destination with these characters and themes, perhaps that was an attempt to develop the film’s charm? Error. It’s all very shallow despite dealing with serious and interesting issues.
Director: Jeanne Labrune
Writers: Richard Debuisne, Jeanne Labrune
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Bouli Lanners, Sabila Moussadek, Richard Debuisne, Valérie Dréville
Runtime: 95 min
Country: France
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