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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 6, 2022

A seamless work of breathtaking imagery.

| Oct 15, 2019

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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 24, 2019

Chabrol develops the situation with sly restraint, while Eduardo Serra's cinematography generates a palpable sense of provincial menace.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 17, 2012

A polished thriller from one of cinema's most accomplished murder mystery fans.

| May 17, 2012

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.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 17, 2012

A prickly, twisted, mean-spirited, borderline crazy and highly seductive picture.

| May 17, 2012

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

Chabrol locates this impressively acted tale in an everyday world with a quietly menacing atmosphere.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 17, 2012

A warm cup of milk spiked with acid

| Aug 30, 2009

A compelling watch.

| Original Score: B+ | Feb 20, 2009

Brilliantly directed and acted, The Bridesmaid is one of the year's best films.

| Apr 28, 2007

Only in a Chabrol film can subjects like lust, obsession and family dynamics not lead you to a psychological insight. That's why The Bridesmaid is so much fun to watch. It's scary and seductive, and you're not bothered in the least by that connection.

| Apr 25, 2007

It's fascinating to watch the level-headed Philip's descent into a relationship with a woman that he knows is insane.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 18, 2007

An understated exercise in edge and intensity worthy of favorable comparison to Alfred Hitchcock. A neo-noir masterpiece!

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 17, 2007

THE BRIDESMAID, shot by the gifted cinematographer Eduardo Serra, isn't on par with some of Chabrol's best work, it is very much in keeping with his themes.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 11, 2007

...An adaptation of a Ruth Rendell novel that turns out to be a surprisingly good character piece, in addition to having the usual Chabrol qualities.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 15, 2006

Chabrol's film stands as a reminder of the madness that lurks in plain sight.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 14, 2006

How does that saying go, 'Always a bridesmaid, never a convicted felon?' Okay, maybe that's not quite right, but it is intriguing and so is this movie.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 28, 2006

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.

| Nov 16, 2006