La Cérémonie

A Judgement in Stone

Director
Claude Chabrol
Cast
Sandrine Bonnaire (Sophie), Isabelle Huppert (Jeanne), Jacqueline Bisset (Catherine Lelièvre), Jean-Pierre Cassel (Georges Lelièvre), Virginie Ledoyen (Melinda)
Date
1995
Duration
107 Minutes

Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) is hired by the bourgeois Lelièvre family to work as a live-in maid. She strikes up a friendship with the eccentric postal clerk Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert) much to the discontent of her employers. Tensions flare, leading to unexpected consequences.

Once again Chabrol transforms a seemingly banal situation into one of suspense and intrigue. The director exploits the universal theme of class-conflict from Ruth Rendell’s source novel to expose everyday fears that structure our social order. The drama is impeccably played out by a top drawer cast, which also includes esteemed veterans Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Cassel. Among the film’s seven César nominations, Bonnaire lost out to co-star Huppert for the best actress award.