La Cérémonie (A Judgement in Stone) poster & wallpaper
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Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Virginie Ledoyen ... see more see more... , Valentin Merlet , Claire Ifrane , Jean-François Perrier , Serge Rousseau , Yves Verhoeven , David Gabison , Dominique Frot

When Catherine Lelievre (Jacqueline Bisset) hires mousy and taciturn Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) as a housemaid, she thinks that she found a treasure. Mr. Lelievre (Jean-Pierre Cassel) seems to agree w... read more read more...ith her, pointing out that the maid just has yet to learn how to serve dinner correctly. Wealthy liberals, they treat her generously enough and expect diligence and reliability in return. However, Sophie didn't tell her new employers that she is dyslexic, and very soon she has terrible troubles with even such supposedly ordinary things as shopping lists. She befriends outspoken postal clerk Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), who occasionally helps her with the above-mentioned lists and tells her all sorts of gossip about the Lelievre family. Mr. Lelievre, who suspects that Jeanne opens their mail, tells Sophie that Jeanne was charged with the murder of her four-year-old daughter and though she was later acquitted, he can't believe in her innocence. Thus he forbids Sophie to invite Jeanne to the Lelievre house, and the tension between Sophie and her employers increases. What could have been a thriller in the hands of a different director, in the case of Claude Chabrol has become another witty and observant social commentary about the eternal confrontation between the rich and the poor. Ruth Rendell's novel A Judgement in Stone was previously filmed in 1986 in Canada. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

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85% liked it

2,831 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

28 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Claude Chabrol

Release Date: August 30, 1995

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DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004

Stats: 140 reviews

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Sandrine Bonnaire as Sophie Sandrine Bonnaire as Sophie Sophie & Jeanne Sophie & Jeanne Sandrine Bonnaire as Sophie Chabrol on the set of 'La cérémonie' Sandrine Bonnaire as Sophie Chabrol on the set of 'La cérémonie' 'La cérémonie' (Chabrol, 1995) Isabelle Huppert as jeanne Jeanne & Sophie Jeanne & Sophie Isabelle Huppert as Jeanne
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Flixster Reviews (140)

  • littlecharmer1959
    March 2, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    After only my first Claude Chabrol film I can see why he is sometimes known as the French Alfred Hitchcock. La Cérémonie is based on the Ruth Rendell book "A Judgement in Stone", I'm not going to reveal too much about the plot because this is one of those films which really does ... read morebenefit from knowing as little as possible. Instead just watch two of the great French actresses of recent times as the story builds with tension to the chilling finale.
  • Autodidactive
    July 21, 2008
    Autodidactive
    Another Chabrol film, like Les Biches, which I can't just watch a bit of - I sit down and watch until the end. I can't say that about very many movies.

View All La Cérémonie (A Judgement in Stone) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Desson Thomson
January 22, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

As the movers and shakers of this peculiar saga, Bonnaire and Huppert are unnerving and fascinating to watch together. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Elegant, brisk and lethal in its assault on the obliviousness of the haute bourgeoise. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Dire, tense, unpredictable, and, ultimately, satisfying. Full Review

John Hartl
January 1, 2000
John Hartl, Film.com

Chabrol's most accomplished and popular movie in decades.

Robert Horton
January 1, 2000
Robert Horton, Film.com

Chabrol's metier has always been tracing the cracks in the old family china, and this movie presents a brittle set, indeed.

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

A tight, beautifully contained thriller that plunges four wonderful actors ... into dangerous territory. Full Review

Jeff Millar
January 1, 2000
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

An unconventional thriller, its climax being the result of the meeting of two largely inert elements that become explosive only when they are mixed.

Stanley Kauffmann
January 1, 2000
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

Besides the unconvincing shift of psychic gears, the picture has no theme, no resonance, no point.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Watching the film, you think maybe you know where it's headed. Or maybe not. Not every ceremony ends in the way we anticipate. Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

The acting, as expected, is first rate, and it's unimaginable that any seasoned veteran of French cinema will let this movie get by.

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