Madame Bovary (2014 film)

Plot

This "Madame Bovary" begins as teenage Emma (Mia Wasikowska) is packing up her belongings and preparing to leave the convent to marry the man her farmer father has arranged as her husband: country doctor Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). But life in the small, provincial town of Yonville soon makes her miserable, as she spends her days alone reading or wandering in the garden while Charles tends to patients. Even when he's home, he either bores or neglects Emma.

Emma longs for more—excitement, passion, status, love. She shows restraint at first when smitten law clerk Leon Dupuis (Ezra Miller) skittishly professes his affections for her. But she's definitely ready for extramarital activities once the dashing Marquis (Logan Marshall-Green) makes even more overt advances. The affair emboldens her and gives her glimpse of the good life, inspiring her to spend more and more money she doesn't have on lavish dresses and decorations from the obsequious dry-goods dealer Monsieur Lheureux (Rhys Ifans), who's all too happy to continue extending her credit.

Cast

Production

In March 2012, it was reported that Mia Wasikowska had been cast in a film to be directed by Sophie Barthes. Ezra Miller joined the cast in May and Rhys Ifans in October 2012. Laura Carmichael, Olivier Gourmet, and Logan Marshall-Green were linked to the project in September 2013. Filming began on 30 September 2013 in Normandy.

Joe Neurauter and Felipe Marino of Occupant Entertainment will produce the film in association with director Sophie Barthes' production company Aden Films and Jaime Mateus-Tique from Aleph Motion Pictures.

Warner Bros. secured all German-speaking rights to the film from A Company Filmed Entertainment in April 2014.

On September 9, 2014, one day before its Telluride Film Festival debut, Millennium Entertainment acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film.

Reception

Madame Bovary received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 44% score based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The film's consensus reads: "Over the years, Flaubert's Madame Bovary has proven an exceedingly difficult novel to film—and this version adds another disappointing entry to the list." The film holds a score of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".