The title of this film is deceptive in that it, at first blush, gives the impression that it's going to be about the eponymous woman. Although the story more or less revolves around the character of Gemma Bovary, it is actually about the male protagonist, Martin Joubert.
Even more than that, it's a story about how men kill the women they "love" through obsession and control.
Martin is a bored man. It's the first thing we learn about him, after listening to him narrate a few lines from his beloved Madame Bovary novel. He's spent his life doing nothing really remarkable, not affecting any kind of change or contributing anything of note to the world. His life in the French…