Customer Reviews

The Bridesmaid

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chabrol here tackles obsession, and does it masterfully. This is really the story of two obsessed people, not one. One's a man and one's a woman, and each somehow instantly recognizes in the other, upon first meeting, that they are kindred spirits.

It's easy to see this recognition and also easy to see the obsessiveness in each. Senta--incredibly sensual--is, one realizes fairly quickly, a storyteller, a pathological liar. Philippe is obsessed with his mother and with the stone bust of what appears to be a Roman goddess. If the viewer looks closely--VERY closely--it's not hard to see that the faces of the goddess, Senta, and Philippe's mother are all very similar. At one point in the film, he kisses the stone bust on the lips. Is this normal? I think not. In fact, near the beginning of the film, we are amazed to find that the somewhat older woman whom Philippe obviously appears attracted to and whom he physically relates to, in the outside world, as one would a lover, is in fact his mother. This is definitely not normal behavior.

The pacing here is flawless. Chabrol is, one could say, the undisputed master at probing relentless behavior founded on obsession, and here he is really in his element, as he was in his last truly great film, La Ceremonie. While The Bridesmaid still does not have the astonishing intensity and depth of the 1995 film, it is nevertheless a terrific piece of work that never takes a false step.

The DVD is graced with a nice (text) interview with Chabrol, as well as with a short but telling on-the-set featurette. In the interview, Chabrol notes that one of the key elements of any good thriller is a corpse. This does turn up in The Bridesmaid, but in a startling--even shocking--way, as the viewer will see.

Very highly recommended and a welcome return to the pleasures of Chabrol the master of psychological obsession and its dire consequences.

The films of French Cinema master Claude Chabrol have been some of the quirkier, intelligent, strange, and creative works to come out of France (La Fleur du mal, Merci pour le chocolat, Au coeur du mensonge, Rien ne va plus, La Cérémonie, L'Enfer, Madame Bovary, Dr. M, etc). His works are marked with sinister underpinnings and his technique has been to place his characters in situations that challenge them to behaviors they consider bizarre until they understand the core of their somewhat deranged personalities. LA DEMOISELLE D'HONNEUR (THE BRIDESMAID) succeeds as a art work on so many levels that the viewer is inclined to forgive some of the dangling missing pieces in character and plot development that prevent this film from being Chabrol's finest. The setting, pacing, cast and concept are intriguingly seductive: that is enough to make the film work well.

The Tardieu family is in the midst of preparing for the wedding of one daughter Sophie (Solène Bouton), learning to accept the new love affair of the mother Christine (Aurore Clément) to a wealthy newly divorced man Gérard (Bernard Le Coq), becoming used to the edgy antisocial behavior of daughter Patricia (Anna Mihalcea), and all the while being cared for by the successful contractor son Philippe (Benoît Magimel). On the television is the report of a murdered young woman and the disruption of a television show frustrates the obsessive Philippe in his work to keep the family focused. We jump to Sophie's wedding to nerdy Jacky (Eric Seigne) whose cousin Stéphanie "Senta" Bellange (Laura Smet) is the bridesmaid of the title. The strange but sensuous Senta captures Philippe's eye and a rather torrid love affair begins. Senta is passionate and makes Philippe agree to four demands to prove he loves her: the last two (killing someone/anyone) and having sex with a same sex partner) jolt Philippe but he throws his usual caution to the wind and proceeds with the pairing. A homeless man who lives at Senta's grimy cellar lodging door repulses her, and when a police report that the man has been found dead, Philippe falsely 'confides' to Senta that he is responsible. Senta then promises to kill Gérard as her half of the bargain: Gérard has avoided Philippe's mother and Philippe feels animosity toward anyone who would disturb his beloved mother. The plot thickens, then boils: the 'murders' change from reality to mistaken identity to heinous ends. Philippe has become immersed in Senta's madness, leaving an ending that remains 'in media res'.

Chabrol leaves strange clues scattered about for the astute eye to discover, at times in retrospect, and it is this trait that makes the story so fascinating. The cast is superb, with Benoît Magimel proving that his success in 'The Pianist' was not a fluke. He is a gifted actor and maintains an electrifying screen presence. This may not be Chabrol's best film, but it is twisted enough to keep the viewer tensely focused on the very strange story and on the complexly interesting set of characters in this very French film noir! Grady Harp, July 07

Perfectly done, crisp performed and directed by Claude Chabrol; - a director, who is not in my list as a favorite one.
I decided to write a review, after I've read other's and learned that this is a transcript from book. So whatever is the weakness in Ruth Rendell's novel, he made the exact and perfect think out of it. That is the real director who could make a movie as a another form of art and in the same time keep the essence of the original.
I think, this is an exciting and dramatic twist of Femme Fatale.
And Benoît Magimel is perfectly expressing the controversy of his situation, especially at the very end the story.

I think to say that this film fails because of its implausibility is to miss the point. And to say that Phillip is too "normal" to ever get involved with Senta is to misread this film. From the very start before we ever meet Senta, Phillip is quite obviously attracted to his mother with whom he still lives. He's also strangely attracted to a stone head that decorates the family garden. When the mother decides to give this stone head away to her new love interest, Phillip is jealous and he misses the mothers affections; and he wants his mother's lover dead. Once he accepts that his mother loves another, he transfers all of his love onto the cold object that once decorated the family garden and he longs for its return. When Phillip meets Senta, a human as cold as his beloved stone head, he is given permission to explore his desires (and those desires may seem "unnatural" or "abnormal" or "perverse", it all depends on what you perceive to be "natural" or "normal" or "healthy"). In the world of Chabrol, however, the perverse is the normal and so Chabrol is the perfect director to adapt Rendell's perfectly transparent studies of garden variety psycho and sociopaths. The beauty of Charbol is that everything, from the most ordinary to the most extraordinary, is presented in the same mundane way. Nothing surprises Chabrol's camera. Its his utter neutrality that excites the viewer. His subject matter is Hitchcockian but his treatment of that subject matter is singularly Chabrol.

Not quite as good as La Ceremonie (but then no film of the last ten years has been). Top-drawer Chabrol nonetheless.

[The following review includes mild spoilers.]

French veteran director Claude Chabrol takes up again Ruth Rendell's thriller (after his terrific "Judgment of Stone" made in 1995). "The Bridesmaid" is equally atmospheric, but less unpredictable and intense than his previous Ruth Rendell adaptation.

The plot of "The Bridesmaid" revolves around young Philippe, honest and slightly timid man played by Benoît Magimel with his pitch-perfect acting. Phillip loves his mother and two sisters, is a hard-working person and trusted by his boss. He is an ordinary man quietly living in a rural city of France.

But everyone has an obsession of some sort and Phillip has one. He hides it from his family, but he secretly loves "Flora" - I won't tell what she is, though that's no secret from the beginning, implying the desire in the seemingly quiet character of Philippe.

But one day his obsession changes to something more dangerous when he encounters a girl named Senta (Laura Smet), one of the bridesmaids at his sister's wedding, and falls passionately in love with her. And Senta asks him to do four things for her to prove his love, which Philippe does not take seriously at first.

I won't reveal the content of her peculiar request here, but one famous Hitchcock thriller would come to your mind if you know the content of Laura's request. Anyway Chabrol cleverly inserts shots that suggest something weird and bizarre during the episodes that apparently describe the mundane daily life. Stories of Philip's mother and her new lover or his sister's marriage are introduced casually, but they all play significant roles later. The film's opening scenes about the news report of a missing girl and unconcerned attitudes of Philippe's sisters to the news are also a nice touch.

I know opinions divide here, but in spite of the deft camerawork and impressive acting, I couldn't find myself drawn into the world of the film. Maybe that's because Philippe's obsession with "Flora" didn't work in the script ("Flora" should look like Senta, but this fact is not stressed enough). Or maybe that's because the lack of mystery on the side of Senta, who is certainly enigmatic, but the truths about her character are too transparent.

I am not saying the film is a bad thriller. It is a solid thriller that wraps up neatly, but not with the nerve shattering climax of "Judgment of Stone" which I prefer to this one.

Benoit Magimel stars as Philippe in "The Bridesmaid," a 2004 adaptation of the popular Ruth Rendell whodunit. Philippe is a good-looking 20-something decorator who stills lives with family. His father abandoned the family years earlier, and Philippe and his three sibs were raised by their mother, whom they adore. At the wedding of his sister Sophie, Philippe finds himself attracted to one of the bridesmaids, the mysterious Senta (Laura Smet). The two immediately fall into a torrid affair, and Philippe is shocked when Senta keeps raising the stakes.

Director Claude Chabrol has directed many thrillers over the years, and "The Bridesmaid" is another efficient entry in his filmography. Everything moves like clockwork in this icy film. Magimel ("The Piano Teacher") is superb as the repressed Philippe; his descent into Senta's world is totally believable. I hadn't seen any of his work before, but I intend on seeking out some of his films now. The plot twists aren't completely surprising, but the film is so skillfully made that the lack of shocks doesn't detract too much from one's overall enjoyment. I'm a fan of cryptic French thrillers (e.g., Cache), and "The Bridesmaid" really hit the spot.

Claude Chabrol does not need to be compared to Alfred Hitchcock. His cinematic view of family obligation, obsession in everyday life, and cliché rituals (such as weddings) stands on its own. Right before it totally creeps you out.
The story of the good son, the good brother, the good guy who becomes an accomplice in the dark deeds of a bridesmaid who resembles Flora, Botticelli's goddess of Spring, begs the question: Which came first, his obsession or the object of his obsession? Chabrol's commentary is a must see, and an added bonus to the film.

French master filmmaker Claude Chabrol's lastest film is a throwback to earlier works, yet somehow things don't quite come together as they should.

"The Bridesmaid" follows the Tardieu family, an upper class bourgeoisie group, as they struggle for love.

Christine (Aurore Clemnet), the mother, is going through problems with a new man in her life, the problem is he doesn't call her and skipped town. Then there's the youngest daughter, Sophie (Solene Bouton) who stays out late, steals money and hangs out with the wrong crowd. Next there is the oldest daughter Patricia (Anna Mihalcea) who is actually the only one not having problems. She's about to get married to a nerdy man.

And I've saved the best for last. Philippe (Benoit Magimel, who appeared in Chabrol's much better "The Flower of Evil"). Philippe doesn't like his mother's new boyfriend, in fact he doesn't seem to like people in general. He's a bit of a loner who keeps everything inside and pretends to have everything under control. With the absence of a father figure, Philippe has taken on the role of "man of the house". But Philippe's world is going to turn upside down when he meets one of the bridesmaid at his sister's wedding, "Senta" (Laura Smet).

Senta is a strange secretive person herself. Philippe doesn't know much about her but perhaps that's the attraction. The werid alluring secret woman (?).

Two begin a whirlwind secret affair. How fast are things going? How's this, after knowing each other for about a day Senta tells Philippe she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.

If all of this isn't bad enough one day Senta explains to Philippe the four ways in which people can prove there love to each other. One is write a poem, plant a tree, make love with someone of the same gender and finally the ever popular, kill someone.

Philippe is willing to plant a tree and write a poem but he's a little iffy on the other two, especially the killing someone part. That one seemed to catch his attention.

The main problem I have with "The Bridesmaid", which was based on a novel written by Ruth Rendell and co-scripted by Chabrol and Pierre Leccia, is the light way he treats the upper-class.

If you recall some of Chabrol's earlier works he always seemed to be looking down on these people. He was exposing their inner desires. They weren't as perfect and normal and happy as they pretended to be in front of others. They had secret longings and desires and often killed people.

"The Bridesmaid" follows in this vein, most of the time, but, when judgement time comes, Chabrol seems to soften up. Has he lost his fierce spirit that dominated films such as "Les Biches", "Wedding in Blood", and "The Unfaithful Wife"? Even his more recent "Comedy of Power" takes a light look at its subjects. There's a cynicism missing in his work of late.

If one comes away with anything after watching "The Bridesmaid" it's that love makes us do crazy things. We lose our ability to think clearly. But, here's a larger question to ask. Even if it is love's fault, shouldn't we still be held accountable?

Bottom-line: Lastest film by the French master Claude Chabrol lacks a cynicism his earlier works use to have and that ultimately hurts the film.

Claude Chabrol's film adaptation of Ruth Rendell's novel is fascinating to watch, but it ultimately has the same problem as the source material. I am Rendell's biggest fan, always have been, but THE BRIDESMAID (1991) is one of my least favorite of her novels because I think it is her weakest. What sinks both book and film is the central character, Philip (Philippe in the French film version). On page or screen, he simply doesn't make sense. I thought that when I finished the book in '91, and the new film version reinforces my original opinion. We are presented with a vaguely repressed, moody guy who is otherwise quite normal and conventional, then asked to believe that he would do the extraordinarily peculiar things he does after meeting the beautiful sociopath, Senta. I didn't buy it then, and I don't buy it now.

If we can all agree that Rendell is one of our greatest suspense writers and Chabrol one of our greatest suspense filmmakers--and I hope we can--I think THE BRIDESMAID just misses the mark for both of them. The weakness of the central character makes this story a true bridesmaid--never a bride.

The acting is OK, sets and photography gorgeous, Chabrol is a meticulous director. But the story (from a novel by Ruth Rendell, British author of police procedurals and psychological crime novels) was tiresome.

Philippe Tardieu, a hard-working assistant to a renovation contractor, falls in love with a woman who was a bridesmaid at his sister's wedding. Senta, or Stephanie, returns after the wedding on a pretext to the home where Philippe lives with his mother and kid sister, Patricia. She seduces him (she arrives in a downpour, which provides a clichéd excuse for her to remove her clothes) and declares that destiny has brought the two together. He is her only love forevermore. Philippe falls in love with Senta in turn. There is lots of mushy lovemaking as only the French can provide.

The plot thickens when Senta, who has made numerous demands on Philippe, asks him to prove his love by killing someone, anyone. He is shocked and puts the idea aside. At one point, when he questions her seriousness, she grows angry and tells him to leave.

Later, they are reunited. Philippe has read an account in the newspapers of the death of a tramp, who he believed to be the tramp who lived outside Senta's house. He tells Senta that he killed the tramp, thus proving his love for her. She then promises to keep her part of the bargain: she, too, will commit a gratuitous murder.

I will spare you the rest of the story in case you decide to view this mediocre effort by an outstanding director. Suffice to say that, almost as an afterthought, we learn that Senta had a troubled childhood, which presumably accounts for her bizarre homicidal impulses and extreme need for a perverse kind of love. The film tapers off unsatisfyingly, leaving many unanswered questions.

Unregenerate thriller addicts may find The Bridesmaid to their liking. For my part I prefer Chabrol's other films, most of which star Isabelle Huppert, a fixture in his films as Mifune was in the films of Kurosawa. In Madame Bovary, with Huppert in the title role, Chabrol has made what is arguably the best possible adaptation of Flaubert's classic novel.

If you are new to Chabrol, I suggest starting off with a different film. Merci pour le Chocolat, for example, or the stunningly gorgeous Violette. Don't miss out on a fine director's oeuvre because of this second-rate effort.