Anna Karenina
(2012)An epic story of love.
Keira Knightley and Jude Law star in this stylised adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic romance novel, set in the upper-class world of 19th-century Russia. From director Joe Wright (Atonement) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). Follows the tragic romance between married aristocrat and socialite Anna (Knightley) and the affluent Count Vronsky (Aaron Johnson).... More
This marks Wright and Knightley's third collaboration, after Atonement and Pride & Prejudice.Hide
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Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards 2013.
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Directed by Joe Wright
Starring Keira Knightley, Kelly Macdonald, Aaron Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Michelle Dockery, Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Holliday Grainger, Ruth Wilson
Written by Tom Stoppard (based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy)
Flicks Review
BY Frances Morton Flicks Writer
Translating this great tome to screen is enough of an academic exercise without filming the whole thing within the constraints of a theatre. The conceit is that Anna and co. are players on the very public stage of 19th century Russian high society, with a whirling array of curtains and spotlights providing the backdrops. Sure, it’s artifice, but I love it.... More
Wright’s visioning of the classic tale is masterful, exact and unashamedly, utterly beautiful while Keira Knightley glitters in Chanel jewels and deluxe Dior gowns as Anna. The dance scenes devised by contemporary choreographer du jour, Belgian Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, combine a modern sexiness with the elegant sensibility of yesteryear.
The stylisation serves its purpose. It represents the noose of society’s expectations that tightens around Anna as she is increasingly titillated and tormented by her illicit affair with Vronsky (a dishy, but disappointedly twitty Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
By necessity, the film focuses on Anna’s doomed love affair. It’s too much of a squish to pay proper heed to the grand themes of Tolstoy’s novel in two hours. Thus Levin’s own love quest and his grappling with socialist ideas are treated sparingly. Matthew Macfayden puts in a hilarious show as Oblonsky, Anna’s philandering brother who provides the counterpoint to her situation and reveals the hypocrisy of the day.
Anna is not a straight up heroine and true love is no panacea. She’s wracked by lust, fate and selfish choices she knows will hurt those closest to her, Knightley, and her steely jaw, capturing this inner conflict. Purists may object to the contrived style, but this is the most deliciously complex female character I’ve seen on screen in a long, long time. Modern screenwriters, take note.Hide
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Anna Karenina
BY GMarkovski wannabe
The success of the show here depends on how well the characters can play and maintain their roles, which for our title heroine (frequent Wright collaborator Keira Knightley, Atonement) who 'breaks the rules' when she cheats on her loyal but passionless husband Karenin (Jude Law, Contagion) for a dashing cavalry officer Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Savages), proves disastrous.
The whole concept provides a constant subtext which revolves around the book's themes of societal rules defining the roles we must play in life, that Stoppard's briskly condensed screenplay may not have as much room to convey. Class differences as well as contrasts between public and private behavior end up expressed in alternating backstage and main stage environments, with the exception of naturalistic settings for Levin's (Domhall Gleeson) idealistic rural life away from society. The most eye-catching of these are of course the ones set on the main stage which involve the aristocracy gathering for lavish set pieces within the theatre (which include a grand ball, an opera and even a horse race) while the working class work the pulleys and ropes that operate the whole thing.
But such is the bombast of the technical aspect of the production, which include loud yet beautifully character-informing costume designs, make-up and hair-styling, a painterly array of backdrops and folding sets as well as some mobile and glittery lensing from Seamus McGarvey (previously worked with Wright on Atonement) that during my first viewing I felt it nearly overcame the story and its characters, but not in an entirely negative way. On the contrary I felt that the visual and aural density of the film combined with the ballet-like elegance of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's choreography (used throughout the film) and Melanie Oliver's slick, sinewy editing style gave such forward thrust that you can not help but feel a dizzying sense of emotion as the plot whirls past.
But once you have a grip on this unique choice of storytelling, the performances prove they easily match the technical wizardry of the production. In the title role, Knightley benefits greatly from her proven ability to enfuse the period heroines she plays with a charming likability, vital here considering the increasingly volatile behavior of Anna as her affair further ostracizes her from society. The bipolar mood swings is what has always made the character so simultaneously fascinating and frustrating, and Knightley skillfully navigates it, not afraid of overplaying to match the heightened theatrical style. Aiding her is Wright's talent for being able to direct romance in the fashion of classic 'women's' melodramas, which feels incredibly refreshing in the sex-central landscape of contemporary romantic films. His ability to draw loving two shots between Anna and Vronsky, even after one of their explosive trysts as the relationship become increasingly strained, reminds the audience of the passion so beautifully wrought through glances and through an expressive dance at the ball earlier in the film.
The supporting cast is typically in top form, littered with top British talent. Ruth Wilson's softly spoken manipulator Princess Betsy is particularly beguiling, fluttering around submissively while quietly pulling the strings to help along Anna and Vronsky's affair, as if only to amuse herself. Matthew Macfayden (Pride & Prejudice), freed with the comic potential of playing Anna's philandering brother Oblonsky, delivers laughs aplenty without having it spill over when his character is reminded of the shame of his own adulterous deeds. Best of all is Jude Law's shaded take on Karenin, making him feel both authoritative and vulnerable as his heart is quietly broken under his hard, seemingly impenetrable shell. His scenes with Knightley remain the most captivating as we struggle to decide who is right and who is in the wrong, such is the hold these players have on the complexities of their characters.
It is no wonder Wright has managed to develop such a loyal production team and acting troupe when he is able to orchestrate them so skillfully and to such creative heights. Stoppard has said that Tolstoy's novel was an 'essay on love' and not only is Wright's breathtaking, magical take on the novel just that, a whirlwind of emotion to show the overwhelming amount of sides of that abstract emotion, but from the dedicated craft of each element of its design the film is a work of passion itself.
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BY sooz56 nobody
It appeared to me that this movie was made purely to boost the egos of all the actors/actresses. I love historical films but this one was difficult to sit through, so I didn't. Hard to work out what was theatre and what was reality, may be clever to the arty sect but the general feeling of patrons around me was unrest and boredom. Better to spend your money on Les Mis, brilliant acting and singing and it actually has a story line of value, not two infatuated rich people with time on their hands.
BY jennytoso wannabe
BY filmlover superstar
The result is a confection of beautiful sets and costuming without any real emotion.
Kiera Knightley looks gorgeous but her... More lover Count Vronsky, the worldly, womanising man's man, is played by Aaron Johnson who appears as a callow youth who must surely buckle under the weight of a sword. All the other characters, who are equally important to this great novel. are barely fleshed out.
To be fair we are presented with a visual feast, so if you love flicking through glossy magazines and feel tired at the thought of wading through a challenging Russian novel this movie may tick all the boxes.Hide
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The Press Reviews
63%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
There's no deadlier sort of movie than a stodgy literary adaptation. Thankfully, Joe Wright seems incapable of making one. Full Review
A sumptuous film - extravagantly staged and photographed, perhaps too much so for its own good. Full Review
If it doesn't ultimately engage your heart as it might, Anna Karenina is period drama at its most exciting, intoxicating and modern. Spellbinding. Full Review
Not a total success, but it's a bold and creative response to the novel. Full Review
The weight of its intellectual distancing device presses much of the life and feeling out of it. Full Review
Worth it for the glitz and Wright's brave film-within-the-theatre idea. Full Review
All dressed up with no place to go. Full Review
It is risky and ambitious enough to count as an act of artistic hubris, and confident enough to triumph on its own slightly - wonderfully - crazy terms. Full Review
Rather than involve us in the story Wright's grandiose concept keeps it at arm's length. Full Review
Director Joe Wright makes the generally inspired decision to stylize his dark, expressionist take... Full Review
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