Madame Bovary
| Release Date: June 12, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
15
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
The DissolveKeith PhippsJun 11, 2015
The characters occupy homes where nothing is ever out of order, but 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. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangSep 13, 2014
Measured and absorbing rather than deeply compelling or vital, this latest adaptation of a rarely well-filmed novel makes a strong effort to capture the stiflingly provincial world that Flaubert was able to describe in such precise, painstaking detail on the page. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 9, 2015
Handsomely mounted, period perfect and starring the empathetic Mia Wasikowska in the title role, the new Madame Bovary narrows the scope and finds a different focus within Gustave Flaubert’s novel. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineClayton DillardJun 7, 2015
Sophie Barthes neglects to thoroughly conceive of Emma's plight, instead making only sporadic gestures to it. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJun 15, 2015
Look closely and you may see that this madame is alive in all sorts of ways. At least for its first half, this is a textured, haunted, remarkably empathetic film. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsGraham FullerJun 11, 2015
Sophie Barthes directs this gloom-laden English-language version of Gustave Flaubert’s novel. The tragedy accelerates impressively, but the well-acted film doesn’t leave us wiser about the enigmatic, ever-doomed figure at the center of things. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJun 11, 2015
The film spends more time lingering on Emma's love affairs than it does in making sense of them; her declarations of passion and despair lack both. Read full review
60
The GuardianCatherine ShoardSep 13, 2014
The presence of Sophie Barthes behind the camera does not amplify sympathy for our heroine. Rather, the opposite: if anything Barthes seems less in her allure, less tolerant of her tiffs, full-throttle with the vanity and the selfishness. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 10, 2015
Wasikowska gives a solid, emotionally precise performance, ably supported by the men around her (especially Ifans, who relishes Monsieur Lheureux’s unctuous cajolery), and the result is intelligent and eminently watchable. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJun 12, 2015
Finally, a woman — Sophie Barthes — has directed and co-written a film version of Madame Bovary, but strangely, that doesn’t result in any more richness or enlightenment. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 12, 2015
The Normandy locations are evocative, but director Sophie Barthes compresses Emma’s multiyear rise and fall into what seems like a month or so. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 11, 2015
What wildness there is in this Madame Bovary belongs to Ms. Wasikowska, an actress who is frequently more interesting than her material. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 11, 2015
[Barthes'] measured, distanced style brings a certain stiffness to the proceedings and makes us miss even more than usual the Emma Bovary interior monologue that makes the book so memorable. Read full review
50
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeJun 10, 2015
The seething passions of Flaubert’s characters are absent, except when Rhys Ifans (as a greedy merchant) or the splendidly ruthless Marshall-Green are in the room. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedJun 10, 2015
The results are realistic and refined, but uneven and disappointing. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJun 9, 2015
Lead Mia Wasikowska looks convincingly miserable in the role of a young wife who's driven to seek her pleasures outside the marital bed, but whatever complexities roil in the character's heart and head are nowhere to be found on her face. Read full review
50
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezSep 13, 2014
An uninspired narrative and disengaged performances ultimately keep persuasive deep feeling and captivation at a far distance. Read full review
40
TheWrapJames RocchiJun 11, 2015
Watching Madame Bovary, you find yourself wishing that Barthes had done something, anything with Flaubert’s novel other than slap it up on the screen as yet another tale of woe from long ago. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthySep 13, 2014
Unfortunately, Barthes brings nothing new to the familiar story. Read full review
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