Although notoriously difficult to capture on film, Gustave Flaubert’s famed 1856 novel Madame Bovary has still attracted filmmakers. The story of a frustrated doctor’s wife and her affairs with other men is scandalous, or at least it was when the novel was published. Today, spouses cheating happen so often in fiction and even real life that we no longer see how Bovary could have been so controversial.

French director Sophie Barthes is the latest to tackle the story, casting Australian actress Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) as the title character. Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) plays the stoic, constantly oblivious Dr. Charles Bovary. Barthes also gathered a few streling supporting players to fill out smaller roles, including Rhys Ifans, Ezra Miller, Logan Marshall-Green and Paul Giamatti.

Since the basic story is well known, Barthes has to find a new unique way to tell it and she does so by completely embracing the term “art film.” It is frustratingly slow and quiet, with methodical performances from its leads. If there’s a simmering hatred for her country home inside Emma Bovary, Barthes doesn’t really ask Wasikowska to show it too often. And if Charles ever found out about Emma’s affairs, this is never clear either. The conflict between them is over Emma’s spending habits and desire to move out of Yonville, not over her affairs.

But darn it, this is one beautiful and gorgeous film. The cinematography by Andrij Parekh (Blue Valentine, HBO’s Show Me A Hero) is truly marvelous, making the film often look like a moving painting. The costume design by Christian Gasc and Valerie Ranchoux can also not go without notice. The gowns created for Wasikowska are some of the most intricate and lovely I’ve ever seen in a modern period film.

However, superficial beauty does not make a great film alone. Wasikowska is often overshadowed by her stronger male counterparts when it should be the other way around. After all, the movie is named after her character and what made Flaubert's novel so scandalous was the fact that a woman took charge of her life. Barthe and Felipe Marino’s adaptation fails Wasikowska for that. Bovary is made a character who would rather have affairs to get out of her problems than try to solve them in other ways.

It really does feel like a missed opportunity to give Wasikowska a strong breakout role. She’s certainly done plenty of work outside of Alice, but this is the kind of role that the Oscars would eat up. Unfortunately, the role is trapped inside a film more obsessed with beauty than story, which is, weirdly enough, like Bovary herself.

Madame Bovary hits Blu-ray on Aug. 4 from Alchemy. It includes no bonus material.