A Judgment in Stone

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A Judgment in Stone

1995

1h 51m

Drama

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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.

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

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Elegant, brisk and lethal in its assault on the obliviousness of the haute bourgeoise.

Feb 14, 2001

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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

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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

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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

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Claude Chabrol

Director

Isabelle Huppert

Jeanne

Sandrine Bonnaire

Sophie

Jacqueline Bisset

Catherine Lelievre

Jean-Pierre Cassel

Georges Lelievre

Virginie Ledoyen

Melinda

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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