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EUR DVD REVIEW: The Bridesmaid (La Demoiselle d'honneur)
Latest Psychological Thriller from Claude Chabrol Released on DVD
*Philippe (Benoit Magimel) is a bachelor with Oedipal issues who still lives at home, even though he has a good job as a contractor. The Momma's Boy is so devoted to caring for his dysfunctional family that he hasn't had any time to think about his own social life.
His divorced mother (Aurore Clement) is dependent on her son for emotional support, despite the fact that she's being courted by a well-to-do country gentleman (Bernard Le Coq) with a Jaguar and a sprawling estate. And his younger sister, Patricia (Anna Mihalcea), is a self-destructive misanthrope with a penchant for shoplifting, while his other sibling, Sophie (Solene Bouton), is about to marry a geek (Eric Seigne) less out of love than as a means of escaping their dysfunctional household.
The wedding turns out to be just as transformational for the inexperienced Philippe, too, when he falls head-over-heels for a flirtatious bridesmaid named Senta (Laura Smet). Once this shameless temptress reels him in, her devious side emerges as she attempts to exact four promises out of her new beau.
As proof of his love, she asks him to write a poem, to plant a tree, to sleep with a man and to murder someone. Philippe has some serious reservations about the last two requests, but her persistence has him considering compromising his values to save the relationship.
This intriguing premise is central to The Bridesmaid, the latest flick from France's Claude Chabrol (The Swindle). Here, the legendary director, known for fashioning fascinating psychological thrillers with ordinary everymen swept up into unusual predicaments, has created another absorbing examination of the human psyche.
Adapted from the novel by Brit mystery novelist Ruth Rendell, this neo-noir masterpiece is an understated exercise in edge and intensity worthy of favorable comparison to Alfred Hitchcock.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In French with subtitles
Running time: 110 minutes
Studio: First Run Features
