Madame Bovary,
adapted (with others) and directed by Sophie Barthes
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books
are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
Madame Bovary is a masterpiece.
It is included on the Norwegian Book Club list of best 100
books ever written.
Only this is not the novel that is in question here.
It is an adaptation.
And alas, not a really good one at that.
The production has the prerequisites of a success:
1. A fabulous story
2. In the cast, two
great actors
3. A woman director
that should be able to understand even better Madame Bovary.
Unfortunately, updating a chef d'oeuvre does not come easy.
The expectations are high.
And in the case of Gustave Flaubert, he was known as a
perfectionist and a master of words.
Turning his superb writing into dialogue is a challenge and
it was overwhelming in this case.
As for the second promise, Paul Giamatti and Rhys Ifans act
superbly.
They are nevertheless cast in supporting roles.
Mia Wasikowska, who is Madame Bovary in this film and Ezra
Miller do not rise up to the level of their senior colleagues.
And the woman director struggles to find the way to portray
this masterpiece.
It isn't easy to render the story of this introverted,
unhappy, depressed for most of the time woman.
Otherwise, we could refer to
-
"Madame
Bovary c'est moi!"
As Gustave Flaubert has said.
My angle on this is that we could all empathize and identify
with the heroine.
Her ennui, the frustrations with life in a countryside where
not much happens could be ours.
The reader can probably understand her dissatisfaction with
her spouse, the limits imposed on her shopping.
After all, she did not have access to positive psychology
studies that prove the limited impact of buying things has.
After an initial pleasure of buying a new hat, we get used
to it
-
Hedonic
adaptation
This is the name of the phenomenon through which we become
used with and do not notice any more the objects we purchase.
If we are to spend, it is way better to use money on
experiences like traveling and not on cars, clothes, etc.
The 80/20 principle has demonstrated that we anyway tend to
use 20% of the clothes we have for 80% of the time.
Madame Bovary is of course a tragic figure and she could be
compared with Anna Karenina.
Her unhappy marriage and the unfortunate attempts to find
satisfaction outside marriage have a disastrous effect.
To the psychological damage done by disappointing humans, we
have to add financial misery.
She is not blameless, for she has embarked on a series of
expenses beyond the means of the family.
Financial ruin is the prospect and one is reminded of
Charles Dickens...
If you have twenty pounds income- a large sum back then-and
you spend 19 pounds and 55 shillings, the result is harmony and satisfaction.
However, if you spend 20 pounds and 5 shillings, you go to
jail...
Poor Madame Bovary finds another way out.
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