Madame Bovary

"Emma Bovary dies in the end, of course, but in this new film version she never even comes to life (...) Sophie Barthes' (...) adaptation has the ever-watchable Mia Wasikowska but very little else going for it, artistically or commercially." 

"Measured and absorbing rather than deeply compelling or vital, this latest adaptation of [the] 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." 

"An attractively crafted movie that tries to insinuate disillusionment (...) [It] feels more precise and calculated, misplacing a vitality that it desperately needs. [It delivers] an uninspired narrative and disengaged performances." 

"Realistic and refined, but uneven and disappointing (...) the approach to this Madame Bovary is academic, but the movie suffers from too much respect and not enough passion (...) Rating: ★★ (out of four)"
 

"It is not hard to believe that Ms. Wasikowska is Madame Bovary - she is at once serious and shallow, willful and indecisive, powerful and helpless - but this "Madame Bovary" is unfortunately not quite itself"