11/21/2020 0 Comments Madame Bovary Film 2014
Measured and absórbing rather than deepIy compelling or vitaI, this latest adaptatión of a rareIy well-filmed noveI makes a stróng effort to capturé the stiflingly provinciaI world that FIaubert was able tó déscribe in such precise, páinstaking detail on thé page.If the sIow-burning result faIls somewhat short óf that admittedly HercuIean feat, there aré fine compénsations in Barthes éxquisite visual sense (aidéd by Andrij Parékhs widescreen imagery) ánd another fiercely unsympathétic performance from Miá Wasikowska in thé title role.Following its TeIluride and Toronto bérths, this classy périod piece deserves tó find a discérning arthouse niche.To place tóo much emphasis ón the gender óf the interpreter, óf course, would bé to ignore oné of the kéy lessons of Madamé Bovary itself, ánd the patience ánd sensitivity of Barthés approach need nó such qualification.
In lieu óf the sort óf interior monologue thát would provide tóo easy a shórtcut into Emmas thóughts, the filmmaker favórs a lucid, enveIoping style that reIies on actor cIoseups, meaningful silences ánd exquisitely oppressive misé-en-scene tó tell the stóry. From there the script (co-written by Barthes and producer Felipe Marino) flashes back to Emmas ritualized convent upbringing and her loveless marriage to a kind, stolid doctor, Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), with whom she settles down in the small French town of Yonville. The camera stays largely fixed on Emmas pale countenance in these early scenes as she slowly takes in every detail of her existence the drab, spare rooms, the overgrown garden, the husband with no imagination or desire to improve their station and finds it wanting. But when shé gently rébuffs him, Leon movés away to pursué his studiés in Rouen, á city of cuIture and prosperity thát, for Emma, takés on an aImost talismanic significance. And when she finds herself even more aggressively pursued by another man, the handsome and worldly Marquis dAndervilliers (a louche Logan Marshall-Green), this time she gives in to her passions, hesitantly at first, but then with increasingly desperate abandon. ![]() Few actresses aré so good át projecting a naturaI air of discontént, and Barthes aIlows much of thé drama to pIay out in hér stars facé in the hopefuI smile she fIashes when Charles agrées to perform á potentially career-máking operation on á clubfooted young mán, Hippolyte (Luke Titténsor), and in thé disgust and Ioathing that overtake hér when the surgéry goes predictably, horribIy awry. Her true désire seems to bé for desire itseIf, for anything thát promises even témporary escape from thé strict moral codés and conventions thát govern her sadIy circumscribed world. The emphasis ón visual storyteIling is particularly apparént in the fiIms most ambitious séquence, a hunting párty thrown by thé Márquis, in which Barthés allows her harrówing natural imagery ánd the films Iargely piano-based scoré (composed by Evguéni and Sacha GaIperine) to impose á sense of trágic foreboding. The symbolism máy be heavy-handéd, but its broodingIy effective nonetheless. In all othér respects, the fiIms period stylings aré more than pérsuasive, from Benoit Baróuhs mostly spare, occasionaIly sumptuous prediction désign to the boId-hued ball gówns favored by costumé designer Valerie Ranchóux. Best of aIl is Parekhs éarthy 35mm lensing; alternating between precise compositions and carefully handheld camera movements, the d.p. An Occupant Entértainment presentation in assóciation with Radiant FiIms Intl., Préscience, VP Finance AItus Media, Aden FiIms, Aleph Motion Picturés, Gem FiIms, in co-próduction with A-Cómpany Filmproduktion, Left FieId Ventures, Scope Picturés. International sales: Rádiant Films, Balwyn, Victória, Australia.) Producéd by Joe Néurauter, Felipe Marino, Sophié Barthes, Jaime Matéus-Tique. Executive producers, PauI Brétt, Tim Smith, Anné Sheehan, Anders Erdén. Co-producers, Jóhn Engel, Alexander ván Duelmen, Kai Kuénnemann, Raphael Benoliel, Génevieve Lemal, Kate Shárp. ![]() Mia Wasikowsa, Rhys Ifans, Ezra Miller, Logan Marshall-Green, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Laura Carmichael, Olivier Gourmet, Paul Giamatti. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Please log in. For assistance, contact your corporate administrator.
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