La demoiselle d’honneur (The Bridesmaid) (2004)
89%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Chabrol has crafted another sophisticated, unsettling thriller about sinister doings among the bourgeoisie.
The Bridesmaid is a twisted and seductive French thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. With a palpable sense of menace and a masterful use of imagery, director Claude Chabrol creates a world where dark undercurrents lurk beneath the surface of everyday life. The film’s pacing is deliberate and the camera often cuts away, but the payoff is well worth it. It’s like a warm cup of milk spiked with acid – unsettling, but impossible to look away from. Chabrol proves once again that he is a master of the murder mystery genre.
Production Company(ies)
Aamir Khan Productions, Jhamu Sughand Productions,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2004
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Mar 20, 2007
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Benoît Magimel, Laura Smet, Aurore Clément, Bernard Le Coq, Solène Bouton, Anna Mihalcea, directed by Claude Chabrol, written by Pierre Leccia, Claude Chabrol, mystery, thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Parkinson, Andrew O’Hehir, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Marjorie Baumgarten, Desson Thomson, Bill Stamets, Kathy Fennessy, Brian D Johnson, Tom Dawson, Film4 Staff, Ken Fox, Fernando F Croce, produced by Antonio Passalia, Patrick Godeau, MPAA rating, French language, Philippe Tardieu, Senta Bellange, Christine, Gérard Courtois, Sophie Tardieu, Patricia Tardieu, sophisticated, unsettling, sinister, bourgeoisie, psychopathology, Ruth Rendell adaptation, clinical accumulation, criminal heart, murder mystery, polished thriller, cinematic masterpiece, provincial menace, intense passion, unpredictable behavior, violent act, delusions, doings among the bourgeoisie
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Laura Smet – Stéphanie “Senta” Bellange
Aurore Clément – Christine
Bernard Le Coq – Gérard Courtois
Solène Bouton – Sophie Tardieu
Anna Mihalcea – Patricia Tardieu
Director – Claude Chabrol
Producer – Antonio Passalia, Patrick Godeau
Writer – Pierre Leccia, Claude Chabrol
Director(s)
Claude Chabrol
Writer(s)
Pierre Leccia, Claude Chabrol
Producer(s)
Antonio Passalia, Patrick Godeau
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (4)
Chabrol develops the situation with sly restraint, while Eduardo Serra’s cinematography generates a palpable sense of provincial menace.
May 17, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A prickly, twisted, mean-spirited, borderline crazy and highly seductive picture.
May 17, 2012
Andrew O’Hehir
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
This 2004 French feature seems concerned not so much with the psychopathology of everyday life as with psychopaths who lurk behind the everyday.
May 17, 2012
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Chabrol’s film stands as a reminder of the madness that lurks in plain sight.
December 14, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Chabrol arranges his story with a subtle, almost clinical accumulation. And it takes close attention to the movie’s seemingly innocuous details to understand his deeper purposes.
November 16, 2006
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Entering his sixth decade, Chabrol remains a master inspector of the criminal heart of the French bourgeoisie.
November 10, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
This is Claude Chabrol’s second Ruth Rendell adaptation after 1995’s La Ceremonie. While that one may be the superior effort, The Bridesmaid is more fun.
February 6, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Kathy Fennessy
Seattle Film Blog
A seamless work of breathtaking imagery.
October 15, 2019
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
Locating his story in a recognizably everyday world, Chabrol maintains a quietly menacing atmosphere in which dark undercurrents such as the disappearance of a young girl lurk beneath a facade of normality [and] respectability.
April 24, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Tom Dawson
The List
A polished thriller from one of cinema’s most accomplished murder mystery fans.
May 17, 2012
Film4 Staff
Film4
Once again Chabrol tells the tale with an almost clinical detachment and discretion — the pacing is almost coldly deliberate and the camera often cuts away rather than intrude — but the upshot is well worth the wait.
May 17, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/4
Ken Fox
TV Guide
A warm cup of milk spiked with acid
August 30, 2009
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion…
Plot
Philippe falls in love with Senta, a bridesmaid at his sister’s wedding, but her unpredictable behavior becomes increasingly troubling, leading her to ask Philippe to commit a violent act as proof of his love for her in this sophisticated and unsettling French thriller.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Laura Smet, who plays the mysterious and unpredictable bridesmaid Senta Bellange, is the daughter of French singer and actress Nathalie Baye and rock musician Johnny Hallyday.
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