LA CEREMONIE
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
France, 1995 U.S. Release Date: varies (limited) Running Length: 1:51 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Mature themes, violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Isabelle Huppert, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Virginie Ledoyen, Valentin Merlet Director: Claude Chabrol Producer: Marin Karmitz Screenplay: Claude Chabrol and Caroline Eliacheff based on the novel A JUDGMENT IN STONE by Ruth Rendell Cinematography: Bernard Zitermann Music: Mathieu Chabrol U.S. Distributor: New Yorker Films In French with subtitles
At the beginning, Claude Chabrol's creepy, atmospheric thriller, LA CEREMONIE, looks like it's going to be another entry into the popular "stranger among us" genre. And, while the film never completely frees itself from this label, it's everything that THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE wasn't: dire, tense, unpredictable, and, ultimately, satisfying. LA CEREMONIE isn't movie-making by numbers; it's the work of an adept director intent on using dialogue and tone to drive his story.
LA CEREMONIE, based on the novel A JUDGMENT IN STONE by mystery writer Ruth Rendell, introduces us to Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire), a humorless, efficient woman who has applied for the position of live-in maid for the rich Lelievres. After a brief interview with Catherine Lelievre (Jacqueline Bisset), she's hired. Several days later, she reports to work -- a large, isolated house in the French countryside -- and meets the rest of the family. There's Georges (Jean-Pierre Cassel), the stern, erudite patriarch; Gilles (Valentin Merlet), the couple's son; and Melinda (Virginie Ledoyen), Georges' pretty daughter from a previous marriage, who stops by every once in a while when she has a break at college.
It's a lonely life for Sophie, who, lacking friends, throws herself wholeheartedly into her work. At nights, she holes up in her room gazing glassy-eyed at TV game shows while the family chats away downstairs or watches DON GIOVANNI on their big-screen TV (with the audio hooked up to an expensive stereo system). Eventually, Sophie makes a friend, but, as far as the Lelievres are concerned, it's the wrong friend. Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert) is a gossipy postal clerk with a disturbed history who manipulates her way into Sophie's confidence. It's clear that she has a grudge against the Lelievres, but uncertain how far she's willing to go to settle the score.
LA CEREMONIE succeeds on many levels, not the least of which is the expert way in which Chabrol develops the tension. Scene after scene, he raises it almost imperceptibly, drawing us in through the slow-moving plot that gains momentum as it charges towards a devastating finale. There's also a sardonic, ironic quality to the film that is never more apparent than at the end, as the closing credits crawl over LA CEREMONIE's concluding images.
One area where Chabrol meets with only limited success is in his approach to Sophie. The problem is that, despite attempts to flesh her out, she never attains the multi-dimensionality necessary to make her real to the audience. Even Sophie's struggles with her dark secret (she's illiterate and ashamed of it) don't do more than fill in a few blanks. And it can be argued that Sandrine Bonnaire's icy performance is a little too distant, which only adds to the gulf between character and audience. The rest of the cast is quite good, especially Virginie Ledoyen as the sympathetic Melinda and Isabelle Huppert as the scheming Jeanne.
Chabrol takes a number of calculated shots at France's pampered upper class, showing rather graphically how offensive their attempts at sympathy can be. What seems to Catherine and Georges like a genuine attempt to take an interest in bettering Sophie's life comes across to the object of their "kindness" as unwanted and condescending. Of course, it doesn't help that Jeanne is always on hand, ready to apply the most unflattering interpretation to anything the family does.
Those who have seen films like HEAVENLY CREATURES, FUN, and SISTER MY SISTER will recognize similar themes running through those films and this one: two people influencing each other in such a manner that, together, they act in a way that neither would act alone. Chabrol does not develop this scenario quite as well as the above mentioned films do, but LA CEREMONIE is invested with enough creepiness and skill that the payoff is worth enduring any rough spots along the way.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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