3 stars (out of 5)
Gustave Flaubert’s endlessly filmed novel is hauled out yet again for another go here by director, co-scripter and co-producer Sophie Barthes, and the result is a handsome, considerably simplified and oh-so-melodramatic costume epic, with star Mia Wasikowska attacking her role with appropriate agonising.
Set around the time of the book’s original publication (1856), this has the young and ‘headstrong’ Emma (MW) marry doctor Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), relocate with him to a small town in Normandy and discover that provincial life is boring and that Charles is a joyless dullard (surprise!). Emma, who’s always dreamed of an exciting life, acquaints herself with smarmy merchant Monsieur Lheureux (Rhys Ifans) and grasping pharmacist Monsieur Homais (Paul Giamatti, star of director Barthes very odd Cold Souls), but then finds herself whipped up in two increasingly obvious romantic affairs with somewhat sexier locals.
The first is with ‘The Marquis’ (Logan Marshall-Green), a windswept sort who looks like he’s just stepped out of an aftershave commercial, while the second is an on-off arrangement with creepy Leon Dupuis (Ezra Miller of We Need To Talk About Kevin) that leads to all sorts of trouble. And, unusually, Barthes concentrates less upon any notion of the Madame as being a proto-feminist figure fighting for her sexual liberation and more upon what a selfish and manipulative chick she is – although given how mean and tedious all the guys around her are, well, what’s a girl supposed to do?
Some will quibble over the dueling accents here (and yes, they should all be speaking French), while others might object to the slow, stately pace (but what did they expect? Terminator-type hi-jinx?) or the fact that the inevitable punchline to it all is seen right at the beginning, which makes you wonder why you need to sit through the rest. But, underneath it all, ‘Our Mia’ is very fine, and sincerely helps us to understand why Emma B must behave like such a damn drama queen.
I Wake Up Screening 