Summary
A country girl Emma Rouault marries a recently bereaved doctor, Charles Bovary, but her
love for him does not endure. Whilst Bovary is happy to remain an ordinary provincial
doctor, Emma yearns for better things. After her husband botches up a foot operation
she loses all respect for him and starts having an affair with a wealthy philanderer,
Rodolphe. She plans to elope with her new lover, but he abandons her. Worse,
she has unwittingly allowed her unscrupulous dressmaker to run up an account that she
can never pay off...
Review
Although not as well known and as celebrated as Jean Renoir’s subsequent films, Madame
Bovary occupies an important part in the director’s film-making career. It is certainly
am ambitious film for Renoir to attempt at this stage in his career and his film is faithful
to Flaubert’s novel in content and spirit (although the film was far less controversial
than the novel when it was first published).
Much of Renoir’s technique is visible in embryonic form in this film, certainly his camera
work. His device of filming scenes from a distance, often through an open doorway,
is particularly well used here, creating the impression that the viewer is standing on
the set, spying on intimate conversations.
Valentine Tessier is certainly a strong contender for the best screen Madame Bovary of
all time. She captures both the tragic vulnerability and her wayward flightiness
with conviction and sympathy. Her captivating performance is easily the film’s
strongest point. As a result, the film’s famous tragic denouement is intensely moving,
without the clumsy sentimentality or grossness which has marred other film adaptations
of the story.
Charles Bovary is played by Renoir’s own famous actor brother, Pierre Renoir. His
rapport with Valentine Tessier is near-perfect. With his stout oafish appearance,
his Doctor Bovary is an obvious foil for his wife’s contempt and frustration. Yet
we never doubt his devotion to Madame Bovary and the film’s ending is all the more tragic
for that.
For the story to work, the audience must be able to sympathise equally with both Madame
Bovary and her husband. Jean Renoir’s version achieves that and, despite some noticeable
flaws elsewhere (some clumsy editing and wooden acting), this remains one of the most
satisfying adaptations of Flaubert’s timeless novel.
© James Travers 2000
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