6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Coveting sensuality and sophistication and bored with her husband, a simple country doctor, Emma Bovary pursues several extramarital relationships, including one with her long-term friend Leon, a man she perceives to be cosmopolitan. Her actions have destructive and tragic consequences.
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Ezra Miller, Laura Carmichael, Paul Giamatti, Rhys IfansRomance | 100% |
Drama | 13% |
Period | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
2014's Madame Bovary is the latest adaptation -- of many, film and otherwise -- of French Novelist Gustave Flaubert's critically praised 1850s work of the same name that's appeared on many short lists of great novels of its, or any, time. This film adaptation, sadly, is a passably clunky, often lifeless interpretation, reproducing, but doing nothing more with, the core story of a young lady in search of a more pleasurable outward existence who finds that the more she indulges, the more she crumbles, both outwardly and inwardly. The film, directed by French Filmmaker Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls), plays as neither cautionary tale nor intimate examination of the character's outermost and innermost needs and the benefits and dangers of her avenues of escape, bodily and financially alike. Rather, it's a dreary, straightforward telling of a depressed life with, emotionally, little to show for it. The film is visually scrumptious to be sure and generally well performed, but the narrative feels empty, devoid of the innermost intimacy its lead character begs and pleads for the filmmaker to release with every turn, tryst, and transaction.
Scandalous.
Madame Bovary arrives on Blu-ray with a crisp, lush, and attractive 1080p transfer. The image is firmly detailed and often effortlessly so, presenting with a fine grain structure and a natural sense of vitality and crispness to everything from intimate facial details to medium-distant terrain. Period clothes are handsomely complex when seen in the foreground, and the same can be said of natural foliage, notably fallen leaves. Colors are healthy and vibrant, with period garb -- including bright orange and red outfits -- standing nicely apart and lifelike. Some flatter natural greens and other earth-flavored hues appear balanced and true. Flesh tones push mildly rosy at times, and blacks are almost always washed out, taking on a demonstrably pale appearance. Otherwise, the transfer proves most enjoyable.
Madame Bovary features an all-around satisfactory Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music and minor effects are the key elements here, beyond dialogue, of course, which is confidently balanced in the front-center speaker and plays with unflinching definition throughout. Musical clarity impresses; light, basic notes rule the film. Fine front-end spacing dominates, leaving the surrounds to carry a smaller, but nevertheless key, environmental support structure. The track never spits out anything too aggressive, but light thunder, blowing winds, rustling leaves, chirping birds, distant insects, and other outdoor ambient effects are nicely scattered around the listening area. A nice bit of heavy reverberation accompanies several syllables in a church setting early in the movie. This is a fairly basic track but Alchemy's lossless presentation shows a firm command of its limited resources.
Only 480i trailers for Madame Bovary, Fading Gigolo, Elsa & Fred, Welcome to Me, and Accidental Love are included.
Madame Bovary seems achingly on the edge of greatness, but this latest film adaptation of the classic novel feels stymied by several factors, chiefly a choppy flow and an empty center. It never quite reaches beyond the surface to more deeply examine the title character's disillusionments and never quite finds a reason for the audience to fully invest in her plight. Even at two hours, it seems hamstrung by a lack of fully filling exposition and depth. It is gorgeously photographed and beautifully costumed, but its pluses ultimately run little more than skin-deep. Alchemy's featureless Blu-ray does offer fine video and audio. Rent it.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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