gemma bovery

Moira+I went along to the Watershed this afternoon to see Anne Fontaine’s “Gemma Bovery”. It’s essentially a re-imagining of Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel… which itself is a re-imagining of Flaubert’s literary classic “Madame Bovery”. I used to love the Posy Simmonds’ cartoon strip in “The Guardian” and the film proved to be a gentle, charming way to spend a wet Monday afternoon (one of the few occasions when we’ve been to daytime cinema when it hasn’t been sunny outside!). The plot revolves around an English couple (Gemma Arterton and Jason Flemyng) who move into a small Normandy village. Their new neighbour (Fabrice Luchini) is the local baker and resident Flaubert fan – who just can’t believe that his new neighbours seem to replicate the behaviour of his favourite fictional characters. I won’t give much more away – except that Gemma has a passion for younger men(!)…

Fabrice Luchini (Martin) is superb as the baker/neighbour and Gemma Arterton (Gemma) is rather beautiful (and also gives a very good performance)! When Martin gives Gemma the novel to read, her response is: "Nothing happens but, at the same time, it is interesting"… and that probably just about sums up the film.
Enjoyable and worth seeing (especially on a wet afternoon).