70
A prickly, twisted, mean-spirited, borderline crazy and highly seductive picture.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
70
At 74, Chabrol is in full possession of his talent for elegant, understated filmmaking, though he's far from his disturbing films of the '50s and '60s.
75
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
The Bridesmaid is fairly familiar Chabrol country, an exploration of the psychological undercurrent of the bourgeoisie, with heavy helpings of black comedy.
80
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
Deceptively understated and finally ferocious.
70
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
Chabrol sets us up, of course, which is half the fun, and the experience is a delight for lack of pomposity (his visual storytelling remains no-nonsense) as well as genre expertise.
83
The Bridesmaid goes slack at times, as it follows multiple Magimel family subplots, but as always, Chabrol stages everything with an elegant economy, moving the camera in short bursts that direct the eye but don't distract. Still, the movie would fail completely if not for the dynamic between the two leads.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
If The Bridesmaid is middle-drawer Chabrol, it's almost worth going to just to watch Laura Smet, a vamp of not-so-basic instinct.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
Based on the novel by Ruth Rendell, the film could do well with audiences who have a taste for creepy films about murder in the suburbs.
80
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
Chabrol insured the power of this dangerously difficult film with perfect casting. The two lovers are so well acted that their story--and its finish--are incredibly convincing.
75
The film flawlessly glides along as bodies start piling up. The finale brings to mind another Hitchcock film, "Psycho."