Anna Karenina

2012 "An epic story of love."
6.6| 2h10m| R| en| More Info
Released: 16 November 2012 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

In Imperial Russia, Anna, the wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets the charming cavalry officer Vronsky to whom she is immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.

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Reviews

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
Micitype Pretty Good
Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
danishwedding This is the first review I have submitted for any movie, at any time. I am doing so because I was unusually pleased with this film. For the record, I am generally a very harsh critic. As an example, I just saw "Darkest Hour" on Churchill, in the theater, which Rotten Tomatoes gave 4 out of 5 starts (or tomatoes?) whereas I came out of that theater critiquing the music and sound track. Otherwise, good film.The Karenina film, for me, was seen on television and without any plan or knowledge of the film before hand. In short, I had heard the name but had no expectations. As a result, I was open to it.The costumes were fantastic, the angles, lighting and sound, as well. The unusual manner of filming was, as some reviewers called it "artsy fartsy" but accepting that it would be such early on, it did not distract me. Perhaps it even added just enough. Would I have been bored with out it? It is possible. Maybe it filled in some areas that would have left holes otherwise - I won't know.The acting was also good. Each role was well-defined, well-played, and there was no discomfort or obvious "issue" between actors. In other words, it flowed well and was believable. Yes, there was the contrived moment when Karenas lover lifted her in the air while dancing, and the choreography seemed to intentionally reflect what the director might have thought was a woman's orgasm, but that passed quickly and moved on. In general the emotions evoked seemed real, and yes, many issues were raised that left me wondering - not only about the history and how relations were at the time, but also how relations are now. To bring it forward, it was almost as if the old story revealed that co-dependence, as we might call it today; that inexplicable passion that binds people in ways that can be as destructive as they seem positive, can seem attractive, but in the end destroy us. It was passion that lead the main character to set aside her awareness and concern over morality. It was passion that lead her to mis-perceive the effect that her choices would likely have on her down the road, and which caused her to forget how much she loved her son. I am left wanting to see it again, or to read the book. So for me - it gets nine starts and recommendations that others see it.
Alicja Furier 'Anna Karenina' (2012) makes sure no one goes back to Leo Tolstoy's classic. The novel, 'Anna Karenina' is an extensive study of love, betrayal, pride and prejudice, to name a few. It's largely made up of interior monologues and smoothly switches between points of view of multiple characters. It touches on the ego and explores timeless dilemmas that stay as relatable today as they once were. Unfortunately, while the book preserves the Russian flair for the romantic without seeming fake, Joe Wright's film does the exact opposite. The flair for the fake burns out any traces of romanticism. Firstly, the film simply does not do justice to the themes it works with. With enough material in the book, the director chose to omit crucial chapters which serve to clarify the characters' decisions and build tension for important narrative twists. Without them, it seems as if Karenina, Vronsky, and Levin were mentally ill as they base their most important life-choices on whims. The screenplay focuses on telling the story of a woman torn between two men. I think I might have seen that before... Without knowing Anna's motives and her nuanced fight with herself and society, the film gets reduced to a love story between a moody, rich diva and a narcissistic soldier - hardly the premise for an epic. The setting hinders that simplistic meaning too. Wright applies a theatrical, over-the-top convention, which drowns the meaning, for the sake of cheap dances and background gimmicks. With everyone dancing, entering different settings, which are being constructed as we watch, the classic turns into a cheap play which relies on distractions to keep the audience's attention. With that, the film seems to be apologizing for its own existence. The over-saturation permeates the acting as well. Every gesture, every sigh, every word of Anna's is exaggerated and ends up insincere. Same goes for Kitty and Dolly. The décor oozes with gold and silver. The costumes, beautiful as they are, look like carefully selected props and not clothes that people lived in. Always creaseless, and starched to the point of standing up on their own, the gowns occupy more space than the actors. The fabrics rustle competing with the soundtrack. All in all, a cringe-worthy spectacle you pray to be over.
sol- Leo Tolstoy's story of a Russian woman torn between a passionate extramarital lover and her comfortable life in a loveless marriage is interestingly turned into a filmed stage play here. If an odd artistic decision, it gives a nice, dreamlike quality to the material as the camera glides, floats and creeps about as the actors walk around stage to change set and location. Dario Marianelli's lively music score also often enlivens the film beyond the stage-bound setting and as workmen move up and down in synchrony, the film almost has the choreography of a big budget musical. No amount of audiovisual pizazz can, however, disguise how melodramatic the tale is in director Joe Wright's hands. The casting of Keira Knightley does not help either as she does little to render her character sympathetic and while Jude Law's subdued approach to playing her husband initially seems like a stroke of genius, his eliciting of few emotions after everything Knightley puts him through never quite feels right. In short, Anna feels less a victim of a repressive society and more of a victim of her own instability and an uncaring husband. As mentioned, the film looks and sounds magnificent enough that the potency of the story is not quite so important, but it is hard not to wonder what may have been here with more attention to characters/performance and less attention to audiovisual splendour.
justintannerpw1 Gorgeous, imaginative, highly original and emotionally transporting- Joe Wright's brilliant film takes us more deeply into Tolstoy's tragedy than any of the other rather tepid, flat and overtly LITERAL film adaptations. By hanging a theatrical frame on this very melodramatic story he is able to both highlight the inherent soap opera (hang a lantern on it, so to speak) while at the same time giving us much needed emotional distance; we can enjoy the truth of the situations and simultaneously understand their inherent theatricality and this magically frees us to find a deeper connection. By the use of abstraction he is able to move effortlessly from scene to scene- thereby allowing for a brisk yet resonant form of storytelling. The actors are absolutely committed and deliver across the board stunning performances, especially Jude Law, Domhnall Gleeson and a truly transcendent Alicia Vikander. I just finished reading the novel last week and I can say definitively that Joe Wright has mastered not only the tone and voice and emotions of Tolstoy's book but found a way to seamlessly convey the expansiveness of the world as well as the finely wrought intimate details of the smallest exchanges. Bravo to everyone involved, from the costumes, production design, choreography, musical soundtrack and especially Tom Stoppard's absolutely breathtaking screenplay. A real honest to God masterpiece.