The Treatment (18)
Directed by Hans Herbots
4/5

THEMES of paedophilia and child abuse are explored in dark, disturbing depth in this slow-burning Scandi-noir crime thriller.

Based on the bestselling novel by British crime writer Mo Hayder, the action is transposed from London to Belgium where Detective Inspector Nick Cafmeyer (Geert Van Rampelberg) is called upon to investigate the case of a missing nine-year-old boy whose parents are found bound, beaten and imprisoned in their home.

The crime revives painful memories of the unsolved disappearance of Cafmeyer’s younger brother Bjorn 25 years earlier.

He believes he was snatched by known sex offender Ivan Plettinckx (Johan van Assche) who was questioned and released at the time. Plettinckx has been hounding and taunting Cafmeyer ever since and he is convinced the paedophile is responsible for the latest child abduction.

Rampelberg is compelling as the troubled inspector who, still crippled by grief and haunted by his little brother’s disappearance, is finally forced to face his demons in a race-against-time hunt for the perpetrator and his next victims.

Without being explicit or salacious, The Treatment conveys the depravity of paedophilia and probes how far any parent would plunge into the abyss to save their child as the victim’s parents are forced to commit unthinkable acts.

Director Hans Herbots delivers a complex and gripping thriller, excruciating to watch in its implications. Like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it begs the question whether it crosses the line in its exploration of human perversion.

The subplots and secondary characters ostensibly detract from the main action but they all tie in at the end, resulting in a finale as thought-provoking and uncompromising as the rest of the film.

If you’re a fan of Nordic noir then The Treatment’s for you.

But others be warned — this isn’t for the faint-hearted.