One particularly violent and cruel scene calls for warning about extreme violence in this flick. And it makes one wonder if it's justified. The gritty plot is very intense and certainly gripping. The director shies from overtly calling for sympathy, but has he gone too far in that direction? Only one speech by the protagonist, very near the end, tells us clearly about his tortured mental state ....and, then, it may just be too explicit! Previous moments - the way he glances at kids, how he pursues one woman - did enough hinting, although the silhouetted boxing was a bit elusive. In sum: artists do have to juggle very fine balances between overtness and concealment (or having the story do all the telling), and this flick intrigues in that it teeters on that edge. Left me wondering.

Stunning and powerful. Left me speechless.

It was O.K for a home TV movie. I was entertained and interesting. But it was NOT worth the long library wait or the price to rent from a Red Box. "I fast forwarded a lot but not all the way.”

Unusual and very well done movie. The story idea originated as a statement on steroid use in cattle on Belgium farms. It was interesting to watch the parallels between the main character and the cattle unfold. I thought it was superbly acted. Unfortunately the description provided by the library does not come anywhere near to touching on the essence of the movie. As a warning, there are some quite violent scenes.

Hmm. Evidently the Dardennes brothers’ film-making techniques are contagious, and this director has come down with a nearly terminal case. The point of this exercise is somewhat obscure. It is certainly not a thriller, or a crime picture, though it does play with some of the conventions of the neo-noirs. It purports to be a character portrait of a hyper-steroidal, victimized young man who literally lacks balls—but why the hell we should care has been left out of the equation. Skip it.

Definitely worthy of its Oscar nomination in 2012 in the Foreign Film Category. The lead actor is reminiscent of a young Jean Reno. Great story and superb cinematography!

Pretty rough and intense and certainly original and gripping.