Claude Chabrol hasn't made many adaptations of classic literature, but he proves to have a capable, if stuffy, hand with Madame Bovary. Isabelle Huppert takes center stage as a poor gal who just wants to get ahead. She does so by marrying one Dr. Charles Bovary, who truns out to be a real drip. Driven by passion, she embarks on a series of affairs while taking on debt to pay for her finery, debt which eventually drives her to extreme measures. Huppert has an interesting take on the character, but the rest of the cast is rather staid. Typical period flourishes abound, too.