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A Judgment in Stone

Play trailer A Judgment in Stone 1995 1h 51m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A wealthy family's new housemaid (Sandrine Bonnaire) befriends a mercurial postmistress (Isabelle Huppert), with dire consequences.

Critics Reviews

View All (33) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Desson Thomson Washington Post As the movers and shakers of this peculiar saga, Bonnaire and Huppert are unnerving and fascinating to watch together. Jan 22, 2002 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Elegant, brisk and lethal in its assault on the obliviousness of the haute bourgeoise. Feb 14, 2001 Full Review Farah Cheded A Good Movie To Watch Remains viscerally shocking, no matter how many times you watch it. Nov 11, 2023 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Part social drama, part psychological thriller, the crisp, character-rich thriller is one of the finest films of [Chabrol's] career. Aug 27, 2023 Full Review Kristy Strouse Cinematic Lovelies Stealthily clever, La Cérémonie revels in its peculiarity with a sharp edge. Mar 1, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (127) audience reviews
Abe A About halfway through this I thought it was dross. Then it flipped the script, and ended up being a masterpiece. A masterpiece of analysis of sociopathy. It's not exactly a psychological study because it doesn't sufficiently explore the psychology of its characters. It portrays sociopathy without an in-depth exploration of the WHY; it gives you the WHAT without the why. So you're mystified by what you see, but you accept it because it's realistic. As a portrayal it's very well done and has the hand of a master. In terms of form, it shows great mastery of structure. The moment of 'revelation' is for me one of the great scenes in all cinema. As an adaptation of a Ruth Rendell book, the end almost snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, but somehow Chabrol manages to avoid Rendell-like melodrama. Overall it's not a movie of scenecraft a la Fellini, or of experimentation a la Godard; it's a formal, traditional work, but certainly a fascinating work of psychological realism. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/23/24 Full Review Dani G The crazy women of Chabrol... Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/14/23 Full Review acsdoug D Starts out slow but builds to a big climax. Interesting film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Fresh off a baby's bottom, smooth & pale, two placid travesties make one genuine act of subtle subversion and engaging good-byes. Bravo to Huppert & Bonnaire. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Boring movie. To keep the audience engaged there needs to be a protagonist that one cares about. I was not interested in any of the characters. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Magnifique thriller français Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Judgment in Stone

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A wealthy family's new housemaid (Sandrine Bonnaire) befriends a mercurial postmistress (Isabelle Huppert), with dire consequences.
Director
Claude Chabrol
Producer
Marin Karmitz
Screenwriter
Ruth Rendell, Claude Chabrol, Caroline Eliacheff
Production Co
France 3 Cinéma, Olga-Film GmbH, MK2 Productions
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (DVD)
Aug 10, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA)
$670.7K
Runtime
1h 51m