Anna Karenina
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).
This marks Wright and Knightley's third collaboration, after Atonement and Pride & Prejudice.
- Director:
- Joe Wright ('Atonement', 'Pride & Prejudice', 'Hanna')
- Writer:
- Tom Stoppard
- Cast:
- Keira KnightleyKelly MacdonaldAaron JohnsonJude LawMatthew MacfadyenMichelle DockeryEmily WatsonOlivia WilliamsHolliday GraingerRuth Wilson
Reviews & comments
Review
A Unique, One-Of-A-Kind Wonder
If there is one thing that you cannot deny about Joe Wright is that he never puts limits on himself as a filmmaker. This comes even with the announcement of 'yet another costume drama' that have had most of his detractors wanting to pin him with that unfashionable label since the one-two punch of Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. Look closer and you'll find...
I walked out of this one!
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...
Head still spinning
So looked forward to this one - and it was as promised stunning in every respect. There is a but though - but what was all that story breaking theatre stuff?? Clever - yes, arty - yes, visually astounding, stunning even - yes, anything to do with the story - no. I think the storyline was strong enough to stand alone and all the theatre backdrop did was...
Tolstoy as a Victorian Melodrama
Where do I begin? How do you condense a major Russian novel into a 2 hour movie? The short answer is, you don't. The beauty of Tolstoy is in the way he plumbs the depths of the human condition and even the great Tom Stoppards skills as a playwright were not equal to this task.Stoppards solution was to throw the story into a medium he is most comfortable...
Variety
pressDirector Joe Wright makes the generally inspired decision to stylize his dark, expressionist take...
Total Film
pressRather than involve us in the story Wright's grandiose concept keeps it at arm's length.
The New York Times
pressIt 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.
The Guardian
pressNot a total success, but it's a bold and creative response to the novel.
Roger Ebert
pressA sumptuous film - extravagantly staged and photographed, perhaps too much so for its own good.
Little White Lies
pressWorth it for the glitz and Wright's brave film-within-the-theatre idea.
Hollywood Reporter
pressThe weight of its intellectual distancing device presses much of the life and feeling out of it.
Empire Magazine
pressIf it doesn't ultimately engage your heart as it might, Anna Karenina is period drama at its most exciting, intoxicating and modern. Spellbinding.
A.V. Club
pressThere's no deadlier sort of movie than a stodgy literary adaptation. Thankfully, Joe Wright seems incapable of making one.
Variety
pressDirector Joe Wright makes the generally inspired decision to stylize his dark, expressionist take...
Total Film
pressRather than involve us in the story Wright's grandiose concept keeps it at arm's length.
The New York Times
pressIt 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.
The Guardian
pressNot a total success, but it's a bold and creative response to the novel.
Roger Ebert
pressA sumptuous film - extravagantly staged and photographed, perhaps too much so for its own good.
Little White Lies
pressWorth it for the glitz and Wright's brave film-within-the-theatre idea.
Hollywood Reporter
pressThe weight of its intellectual distancing device presses much of the life and feeling out of it.
Empire Magazine
pressIf it doesn't ultimately engage your heart as it might, Anna Karenina is period drama at its most exciting, intoxicating and modern. Spellbinding.
A.V. Club
pressThere's no deadlier sort of movie than a stodgy literary adaptation. Thankfully, Joe Wright seems incapable of making one.
Review
A Unique, One-Of-A-Kind Wonder
If there is one thing that you cannot deny about Joe Wright is that he never puts limits on himself as a filmmaker. This comes even with the announcement of 'yet another costume drama' that have had most of his detractors wanting to pin him with that unfashionable label since the one-two punch of Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. Look closer and you'll...
I walked out of this one!
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...
Head still spinning
So looked forward to this one - and it was as promised stunning in every respect. There is a but though - but what was all that story breaking theatre stuff?? Clever - yes, arty - yes, visually astounding, stunning even - yes, anything to do with the story - no. I think the storyline was strong enough to stand alone and all the theatre backdrop did was...
Tolstoy as a Victorian Melodrama
Where do I begin? How do you condense a major Russian novel into a 2 hour movie? The short answer is, you don't. The beauty of Tolstoy is in the way he plumbs the depths of the human condition and even the great Tom Stoppards skills as a playwright were not equal to this task.Stoppards solution was to throw the story into a medium he is most comfortable...
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