kenjha At his sister's wedding, a young man falls for a bridesmaid who harbors some weird ideas and may have a disturbing past. Chabrol is regarded as the French Hitchcock, and this film has some parallels with "Strangers on a Train," but it's not as taut and suspenseful as that classic. Chabrol here seems to be more interested in character development and relationships than in the plot. In fact, between a slow beginning and an unsatisfying ending, what little plot there is is rather predictable. However, it manages to be engaging despite these shortcomings. The pacing is leisurely but not boring. It has a good cast.

gridoon2018 There are a couple of good plot twists near the end of "The Bridesmaid", but in general this movie can hardly be classified as a "thriller" - it's more of a slow-burning psychological drama. Still, it remains interesting throughout, mostly thanks to excellent performances in every role, no matter how big or small, as you would expect from a Claude Chabrol movie. At first I thought Benoît Magimel was slightly miscast as a "normal", sensible guy drawn into a bizarre new world, but soon I realized the character he plays has his creepy, hidden sides as well - especially his (never fully explained) obsession with a stone head that resembles both his mother and his new girlfriend. Speaking of the new girlfriend, Laura Smet must be one of the most (atypically) beautiful and promising actresses of the new French generation: here she makes her character's warped (to put it mildly) morality seem casual, and she mixes the sick with the sweet. This movie is definitely worth seeing, as long as you don't expect many thrills. **1/2 out of 4.

jotix100 Ruth Rendell's novel "The Bridesmaid" is the basis for this French film directed by Claude Chabrol. The director had a huge success adapting another Rendell's book, "A Judgment in Stone" that became the hit "La Ceremonie". Ms. Rendell stories always have a central flawed character, as is the case with Senta, a strange young woman.The story begins as Sophie and her sister Patricia are watching a news program on television, a sensational crime is in the headlines. Their single mother, Christine, works as a hairdresser from her modest, but comfortable home. Philippe, who is the other member of this family does not approve of the man his mother is seeing. To make matters worse, Christine's intentions of involve keeping Gerard Courtois, who clearly has no intention of marrying her.As the wedding approaches, a bridesmaid is needed to complete the party, the groom suggest a cousin, Stephanie, a strange young woman who has named herself Senta, after the heroine of the Wagner opera, The Flying Dutchman. At the party that follows the wedding, Senta meets Philippe, who finds her intriguing. Their relationship will have fatal consequences because of Senta's strange behavior and possessiveness.We had a vivid recollection of the novel, which we enjoyed tremendously. The adaptation of Mr. Chabrol and his collaborator Pierre Leccia, while following the story line of the novel turns out to be not as involving than the written page, although the director gets the essence of the book.Benoit Maginel, a young French actor had worked with Mr. Chabrol prior to this film, and went to star in 'La fille coupee en deux", does well as Philippe, the young man that falls hopelessly in love with a deranged woman. Laura Smet plays Senta, the woman who drives Philippe crazy. Aurore Clement appears as Christine, the mother. Michel Duchaussoy has a brief role as the vagrant that annoys Senta.Eduardo Serra, the cinematographer, keeps the dark atmosphere of the novel in check with the gray skies of Nantes and locations around Loire-Atlantique to great effect. The soundtrack is by the director's own son Matthieu. Even though this is not one of the best films by Mr. Chabrol, it must be viewed by all his fans.

guy-bellinger Just like Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell is a perfect inspiration to Claude Chabrol. Following Patricia Highsmith's example, Ruth Rendell minutely explores the troubled minds of unbalanced characters and the effects of their dangerous conduct on the people they mix with, the latter unaware of their mental imbalance. And what is director Chabrol pet theme? Just that!This second child of a love match ( "La Demoiselle d'Honneur" is "La Cérémonie"'s younger sister ) is - unsurprisingly - as good as the first product of their encounter. This time around, two hearts, two bodies are irrepressibly attracted to each other but will the sick mind of one contaminate the other's healthy brain? This is what the story is about and fascination slowly but surely finds its way to the viewer. Indeed Chabrol's talent mainly lies in his ability to make the story shift from the ordinary ( Philippe's family life, his job, the wedding ) to the uncanny ( Senta's odd ideas, the queer characters living in a bizarre house, Senta's sincere love tainted with unsettling ideas).Benoît Magimel and Laura Smet embody the cursed couple to perfection.In addition, there are excellent supporting performances, mainly from Aurore Clément ( the mother whose suffering is made apparent despite the character's efforts to hide it ), from young Anna Mihalcea ( striking as a young tortured rebel ) and from Michel Duchaussoy ( very amusing as good-natured tramp ).All this fine movie lacks to be a genuine masterpiece is an extra dose of intensity. But , as it is, it's quite worth seeing.