I Am Not Madame Bovary

An infelicitous archness pervades Feng Xiaogang's adaptation of a Liu Zhenyun novel that bears a passing similarity to Zhang Yimou's bureaucratic dramedy, The Story of Qiu Ju (1992). Firstly, the western title cynically cites Flaubert's unhappy heroine rather than Pan Jinlian, the murderous adulteress referenced in the original Chinese story, while the decision to shoot much of the action in a circular frame redolent of classical painting feels as distractingly gimmicky as the later shifts to a boxy square and widescreen. These visual gambits are intended to reinforce the sense of oppressive futility that Fan Bingbing's scorned woman experiences while seeking redress for her ex-husband's treachery in reneging on a plan to secure a better apartment. But, while Fan's exchanges with the corrupt and hypocritical officials she encounters are amusingly snappy, they lack a cutting edge and risk over-deliberation, as Feng and Liu seek to hammer home their satirical message. A subplot involving a rapacious chef (Guo Tao) is also misjudged, even though it emphasises the chauvinism of a society riddled with contemptuous prejudice, self-serving opportunism and buck-passing paranoia.