Gigantic hype in Belgium, Oscarnomination for Best Foreign Film, everyone praises Schoenaerts for his performance ...
But when you look at it after al the hype, Matthias' acting is the only redeeming quality of the movie. Practically all other actors are mediocre at best (the cops being the weakest of them all), the story itself is too thin to stay interesting and lacks logic. Matthias' background story on the other hand is a very hard punch in the stomach and the evolution of his character all the more painfull to watch ... but the ending is just too weak.
Extra credits for the dialect used. I'm not from the area but I still recognised most of the typical words and phrases.