Claude Chabrol's Madame Bovary seemed too tame, but it's delightful watching Vincente Minnelli try to sneak in as much scandal as possible into his version. It requires that he literally put Gustave Flaubert on trial in a subplot, but it permits him to make Bovary a full-fledged, arresting trollop. When Emma and Rodolphe go riding for instance, he simply hints that they're more than riding by showing her hat on the ground. It's a simple insinuation that's just smutty enough that the censors couldn't find it too objectionable.
Jennifer Jones's transformation from a wide-eyed innocent to a petulant misanthrope is occasionally delightful. Whenever she's being the slightest bit miserable, she gives the film a weight it would lack without her coldness. It's irresistible hearing her remark, "Do you know why that clock strikes, Charles? To announce the death of another hour."
Unfortunately, she's not so good at conveying other emotions. When she's showing her ruthless ambition, she feels insincere or loony. I've seen Jones try to stretch her limitations before in Duel in the Sun. There's melodramatic territory here she simply shouldn't tread into and she does, on more than one occasion, embarrass herself.
She does come off well by being at the center of the film's clear highlight. It's a marvelous scene where Madame Bovary steals the show in a ballroom. She spectacularly waltzes despite insisting she doesn't know how; Minnelli captures the lightheaded wonder of the moment by spinning the camera in a dizzying fashion. How the numerous enormous gowns missed a Costume Design nomination is inexplicable. The Art Direction, at least, is spectacular in this and almost every other scene and deservedly got a nod.
Chabrol's version is decidedly tighter and more entertaining. Minnelli's film may be stylish and sometimes effective, but the overall film he makes is neutered and episodic. He does what he can to create an accomplished adaptation, but this was plainly the wrong era for a Madame Bovary.
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