I see this movie for the third time and can't prevent myself to notice the pure Claude Chabrol style in the critic of the rich people, especially in the province. But the ending is very bloody and surprising too. And in the mean time, since my last viewing, I saw PARASITES and I can't also prevent myself to see a thin line between the two features. If you have seen both features, you see what I mean. A pure delight.

Claude Chabrol has made his share of brilliant (and just decent) human thrillers in his time - human as in mostly deliciously and mostly focused on characters, possibly more than the central plot - but few have been as nasty and dark as this is, La ceremonie. You think it might go somewhere in its tragic direction, but it's not so simple. Chabrol is toying with class here (he was a lifelong Communist, though opting to make these Hitchcock-inspired films as opposed to the kinds of films Godard made),and has a story that is a slow-burn. Slow-burn, I mean, that it doesn't start out looking like anything special: a maid is hired by a wealthy French family in a village, with a family (mother, father, son, sometimes-around daughter) who are decent folks but, let's face it, rich. The maid is compliant and attentive and a great cook, and soon is befriended by the local post-master. It's suddenly becomes clear, as scenes go on bit by bit, that it's really an "us" vs "them" parable. And, as it turns out, it's something of a domestic horror film.

The two of them become thick as thieves- or, rather, the maid looks to the post-master like an older sister, rebellious and 'I-don't-give-a-bleep' attitude that she responds to like a magnet. It's not that Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) is really a 'bad' person. That is, however, depending on what can be proved (she, along with Jeanne, a delightfully wicked and unconventional femme fatale played by Isabel Hupert, has some skeletons in the closet),and looking back at her character it's hard to tell who she really is. Is she really just a kind but illitterate girl taking odd jobs as a maid and housekeeper who gets put down a path that she can't escape but finds all too absorbing, or was she really bad from the start and she happened to find an outlet with Jeanne, a similar but more outgoing spirit? Chabrol leaves these questions about her in little slivers, like a cake of character left here, a little there.

It's tricky, because in the first half hour of the film, when it's mostly just Sophie at the house with the Lelievre family, she seems decent enough, if a little 'odd' and hooked on watching TV, no matter what it is. But when Jeanne enters the picture it starts to unravel bit by bit, until Sophie, after blackmailing the daughter of the household (both have things to hide but Melinda is blood so that trumps all),is let go, just says 'screw it' and does whatever she wants with her best friend. It's in this last reel that we see a sense of evil happen that is not the usual kind seen in most movies, almost akin to the kind of banal, pleasant if still psychotic sense of self, that one saw in Haneke's Funny Games. Except this time Chabrol has a lot more respect for his audience's sense of the story and characters, and the horror is amplified by how matter-of-fact it appears on screen while put to a Mozart opera in the background. It's maturity chills to the bone, and the surprise- really in the details of chronological order- is a stunner.

The performances help a great deal to get at Chabrol's intended mood. The family characters are made up of actors in a mode that is pleasant and cordial and understanding with the oft-subtext of rule of law and the father with his attitude towards Sophie (played by Jean-Pierre Cassel in just the right note of stern, commonplace superiority). In a way it helps that Bonnaire for the most part has a blank expression. She's never too sad, or too happy (save for around Hupert),or too angry. It's simply 'oh, that, yeah, I was fired, so on', so it makes sense, through the performance, that Sophie could be so impressionable. And it's thrilling to see Hupert in a role like this, where she gets to cut out and be as open as possible as an actor, tough and sarcastic, mean and rude, raw and emotional when Jeanne reveals the details about her son's death. It's once again really brave work from one of France's finest actresses.

The tone by the end of La ceremonie is a far cry from a happy ending. Chabrol may attempt at giving a sliver of bittersweet, or perhaps (without trying to spoil too much) shared tragedy on display. But even if it is pessimistic about the human condition, it's nevertheless masterfully shot, written, paced, scored, acted, and directed. It never shouts out that it's a controversial movie, but it speaks to the 'Down With the Ruling Class' mentality that never loses its power. Without assuming too much or being flashy, it's one of the best uncompromising French drama-thrillers of its time.

Elegant and sophisticated Catherine Lelievre is in a bind. She has been without a housekeeper for quite some time. The prospect of getting someone to come work in her suburban home as a live-in maid, appears to be Sophie, a young woman she interviews for the job as the story begins. The quiet Sophie shows promise, although Catherine does not emphasize she is taking her on a trial basis.

Sophie turns out to be a terrific worker and a good cook to boot. There is one problem though, we realize she is an illiterate young woman who cannot read. Little written reminders pose a threat to her because she has no idea what is being asked for her to do. The generous LeLIevres offer to pay for her driving lessons, something she refuses because she has bad eyes. No problem, they will pay for an eye checkup!

One day Sophie meets Jeanne, a woman that is a gossip and a snoop. She has the perfect job working at the post office where she is able to open the mail to her heart's content. Jeanne sees in Sophie a kindred spirit. What's more, she has discovered a secret the Lelievre's maid has told no one. Sophie was involved in a fire in the house where she was living with her older infirm father, who died in the sinister. Sophie, who might have done the deed, is not accused of anything. Yet Jeanne knows about it. Jeanne, a woman with a shady past, becomes Sophie's ally.

In the meantime, things begin to change somewhat for Sophie at the Lelievres. One day, she decides to leave Catherine to fend for herself during a birthday party at the house because she must go out with Jeanne. Daughter Melinda discovers the problem with Sophie. Thinking the maid is dyslexic, she offers to help her, but Sophie overreacts by telling Melinda she knows she is hiding her pregnancy from her parents.

Georges Lelievre finally explodes when he learns that Jeanne, the woman that has been reading his correspondence is being entertained at his house by Sophie. He fires her, but lets her stay for a few days. A bad decision that will backfire on him and the family. Jeanne, clearly upset by not being able to come to the house, visits one night as the family prepares to watch "Don Giovanni" on a televised broadcast which they are also recording on a portable device. That visit comes with terrible consequences for all the people involved.

Claude Chabrol's adapted Ruth Rendell's novel "A Judgment in Stone" with Caroline Eliacheff, transferring the locale from England to his beloved Brittany. The adapters put more emphasis on the class differences between the well-to-do Lelievres and Sophie, even though the employers were more than generous. The novel had another flavor, but for those that have not read the original text, this is a wonderful way to get acquainted with the Ruth Rendell work. In fact, having read the novel years before the film came out, we went back to reread it after we watched the film.

Sandrine Bonnaire is quite a contrast for the original Eunice Parchman. In the novel, Eunice is a vulgar woman whose attitude toward any kindness the people she worked for bestowed on her was received with resentment. The Sophie in the film version shows a more sophisticated approach, in comparison with Eunice. Ms. Bonnaire, one of France's leading actresses does what the director wanted of her, but it is hard to believe her Sophie could be illiterate.

Working with Isabelle Huppert came easy for Claude Chabrol, after all, they collaborated a lot in the films they did together. Some of Ms. Huppert's best work can be seen in films directed by Chabrol. Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Cassel are wonderful as the Lelievres. Virginie Ledoyen and Valentin Merlet play Melinda and Gilles respectively.

Bernard Zitzermann's camera photographs the area in vivid detail, enhancing the film. The music score is by Matthieu Chabrol, the son of the director, a frequent collaborator.