The fantastic Mia Wasikowska is Emma Bovary, whose refusal to accept societal conventions leads to rebellion and disgrace, in this adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's classic novel set in 19th-century rural France. Co-stars Paul Giamatti and Rhys Ifans.
"Flaubert’s finest gets a fresh dust-off as Wasikowska takes on the mantle of the woman who wanted too much. Marriage is at first a dream for young Emma, keen to embrace this new stage in her life and be the perfect partner to her country doctor husband. But she is too spirited a woman to be contained and it’s not long before a combination of loneliness, boredom and naïveté impel her beyond the boundaries of society." (London Film Festival)
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43%69 reviews
Madame Bovary, Flaubert’s French literary classic, has been adapted many times. Befitting a tale hailed as the first “modern realist” novel, French director Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls) approaches proceedings in a naturalistic manner (akin to Mike Leigh’s recent Turner biopic), lending what could have been a stuffy costume drama an immediacy and edge, set off by a prevailing sense of doom.
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Measured and absorbing rather than deeply compelling or vital, this latest adaptation of a rarely well-filmed novel makes a strong effort...
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It is not hard to believe that Ms. Wasikowska is Madame Bovary - she is at once serious and shallow, willful and indecisive, powerful and helpless - but this "Madame Bovary" is unfortunately not quite itself.
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The presence of Sophie Barthes behind the camera does not amplify sympathy for our heroine. Rather, the opposite...
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Barthes creates a sense of unease that never lets up, and a suggestion of chaos underlying all the neatly arranged possessions in the Bovary home.
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In an ideal version of the novel, we would empathize deeply with her dilemma at the same time as we would cringe at the nature of the choices she makes. Sadly, this makes that identification harder than it should be.
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Extend this oddly affecting film a little patience and keep an open mind, and you won't forget it in a hurry.
Full reviewMadame Bovary is available to stream in New Zealand now on Apple TV and Beamafilm.
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