Movie SUMMARY

Not Seen.

(Spoiler Alert) In mid-1800s Normandy, France, farmer's daughter Emma (Mia Wasikowska) leaves the convent where she was educated and marries a young doctor, Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). With high hopes for a fulfilling and romantic future like the ones she reads about in novels, Emma leaves her childhood home and loving father, moving to the small town of Yonville where Charles has based his practice.

While Charles loves his new wife, he is consumed by his work and is out of the house all day visiting patients. During their brief daily time together, Emma is bored and repulsed by his talk of ailments and dull business affairs, and Charles is all but oblivious to her ennui. With no regular company besides their maid, Henriette (Laura Carmichael), Emma becomes a vulnerable client to the crafty local merchant Lheureux (Rhys Ifans), who entices her with luxury goods available for purchase on credit.

Emma soon befriends a young clerk, Leon Dupuis (Ezra Miller), who shares her romantic frame of mind and disdain for provincial Yonville. Emma longs to go to Paris and immerse herself in the culture, and has quickly tired of her dull existence as a country doctor's wife. Leon secretly confesses his love to Emma, who, despite the mutual attraction, dismisses his advances. Leon departs for law studies in Paris.

Charles and Emma are invited to a hunting party by the Marquis d'Andervilliers (Logan Marshall-Green), who had dropped by Doctor Bovary's house to have one of his servants treated. The Marquis was immediately attracted to Emma, who becomes so excited about the excursion into high society that she orders expensive clothes from Lheureux for the occasion. At the party, she is entranced by the luxury of the upper-class and by the subtle advances of the Marquis, whom she meets once more at an agricultural show.

Emma's thirst for extravagance only grows, and she begins to spend liberally to beautify the house and her wardrobe, all on credit from Lheureux. She also takes the advice of local pharmacist Homais (Paul Giamatti) and convinces her husband to operate on the club-foot of Homais' servant Hippolyte (Luke Tittensor) and become a celebrated surgeon. While much hype surrounds the controversial operation, Charles ultimately botches it and Hippolyte's leg is later amputated.

Ashamed of her husband's incompetence and feeling all the more stifled, Emma visits the Marquis at his home and confesses her misery. They begin an affair, with Emma making regular trips on foot through the woods to visit him. Charles has no inkling of his wife's unhappiness in the marriage or of her affair. Emma eventually begs the Marquis to run away with her, and though he initially refuses, he calms her by promising to make arrangements to elope.

Emma packs her things and waits for the Marquis on the night of their planned departure, but is delivered a basket of apricots with a note from her lover at the bottom, breaking off their relationship. Overcome with despair, Emma sinks into a deep depression that takes a physical toll.

After some time, Lheureux offers a "cure" for Emma's sadness: tickets to a concert in Rouen. While there, Charles and Emma encounter Leon, now working at a law firm, who suggests they attend an opera with him the following night. Charles declines, as he must return to Yonville for his work, but he suggests Emma stay on an extra day. Leon and Emma meet the following morning and go to a hotel, beginning a passionate affair. Back home, Emma manipulates Charles into believing she is taking piano lessons in Rouen, which allows her to return to Leon every week.

Emma's spending brings Lheureux to her home, demanding payment from Charles, who is shocked by the amount they owe. Lheureux speaks to Emma in private, suggesting she seek power of attorney over Charles and sell the property of Charles' recently-deceased father to erase her debt. Even with the extra money pending and the return of many of her purchases to Lheureux, Emma has not made a dent in the 10,000 francs owed. Desperate, she makes several visits to Leon at his workplace. He cannot afford to bail her out, and her frequent presence leads his supervisor to insist Leon break off the relationship if he wants to keep his job. As a last-ditch effort, Emma visits the Marquis, who also refuses her the money.

Seeing no way out, Emma takes a bottle of poison from Charles' medical stash and flees the house. She downs the bottle and walks through the woods until she collapses and succumbs.