Gemma Bovery
Music Box Films | Release Date: May 29, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJul 9, 2015
This meta movie even has fun with faulty translations between French and English. To paraphrase Gemma as she conjugates verbs on the treadmill, “J’ai adorée.” Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Nathalie AtkinsonMay 28, 2015
Fontaine’s flirtatious pastiche stands on its own. For Flaubertians, however, it offers up even more droll entertainment. Though admittedly some of the laughs will be from recognizing their own cleverness. Read full review
80
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeMay 30, 2015
Whether you’ve read Flaubert or not, it’s a sharp comedy of manners anchored by two wickedly witty performances. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlMay 26, 2015
Fontaine handles the assignations with sympathetic shorthand — we see what Martin sees, but we see more, too, enough to understand that Gemma's dalliances are vital to her but not overwhelming. She has a handle on them. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 25, 2015
Again like Chabrol, Fontaine has a way of making you laugh, on and off, for 90 minutes, before leaving you feeling a little queasy from too much truth. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 18, 2015
Gemma Bovery, which is based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, possesses a deliciously sense of wit and irony. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle SmithMay 28, 2015
Laden with witty ironies, the film by Anne Fontaine suggests men may not play exactly the roles they think they do in women’s lives. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedMay 27, 2015
The result is a somewhat reserved but sensual and gratifying movie that finds and polishes connections between literature and the screen while further catapulting the wonderful British actress Gemma Arterton several notches up the ladder toward international stardom. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 27, 2015
Gemma Bovery manages a few surprises, even if you know the Flaubert novel Simmonds was sending up. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 28, 2015
As pure entertainment it certainly does the job, although much of the text's existential weight is lost in the process. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 28, 2015
Think of Gemma Bovery as an airy puff pastry, dripping with honey. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerMay 27, 2015
It’s minor, clever, and essential in the specialized field of Gemma Arterton studies. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneMay 27, 2015
The film dabbles in the French romantic-comedy tradition and simultaneously spoofs it, committing to neither. Read full review
60
EmpirePatrick PetersAug 19, 2015
While the Norman vistas are glorious, the storytelling lacks wit and charm. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMay 29, 2015
After a while, the film feels more like a cute conceit that hasn’t really been developed further. It’s intriguing, and very well-acted, but empty. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianJeff BakerJul 14, 2015
It's very meta and only mildly interesting. The actors are attractive, the countryside moreso. The plot is silly and threadbare; when tragedy does strike, it has about as much impact as a summer shower. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleJun 11, 2015
As it is, Gemma Bovery is as dry as day-old bread: Not inedible, but why bother with it if you can find something fresher? Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenMay 28, 2015
As a bored baker with an overactive imagination, the wonderful French actor Fabrice Luchini is the only reason to see Gemma Bovery, a mildly amusing riff on Flaubert. H Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 28, 2015
This pretty slip of a film, in French and occasionally English, draws boldface parallels to Emma Bovary and the Flaubert novel to no particular purpose, though it sometimes gives the impression of being profound. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneMay 28, 2015
The only performer who seems at ease is Luchini, eternally hangdog, who in one juicy moment spies Gemma and her beau-to-be, at a market stall, and confesses not to envy but to “a strange kind of jubilation” at seeing Flaubert’s narrative lock into place. Read full review
50
The DissolveKeith PhippsMay 28, 2015
What almost rescues the film is Arterton’s performance. Read full review
50
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthApr 27, 2015
Gemma Bovery attempts to bring new heat to an old story, but mostly winds up cooling on the sill. Read full review
40
CineVueEd FranklAug 27, 2015
It feels more that Gemma Bovery goes through the motions of the novel, restricted by its own pretensions to meet high-brow literature. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJul 15, 2015
Oh, how I rued my failed foreign-language skills in the opening moments of Gemma Bovery. Who wants to read subtitles when a French baker is rolling out such pliant, such pokeable, such heavenly looking dough? Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMay 27, 2015
The emotions are florid and the entanglements heated. But the film become preoccupied with, as Flaubert would say, the pettiness and mediocrity of daily life. Arterton, though, is plushly magnetic. She draws us in despite the overly lyrical atmosphere. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonMay 29, 2015
Sure, the events are scrambled, with minor changes here and there, but if you know what happens in “Madame Bovary,” you will not be surprised by this film. In fact, you’ll probably be as irritated as I was by Gemma Bovery’s attempts to be clever and meta. Read full review
37
Washington PostStephanie MerryJun 11, 2015
The movie winks and nudges its way through a lighter, modernized variation of the classic, proud of its own cleverness every time Gemma’s life mirrors Madame B’s. But imitation for the sake of itself isn’t brilliant, especially when the elements most worthy of copying — Flaubert’s precise narration and telling details — don’t make the cut. Read full review
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