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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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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Director

Joe Wright

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

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Anna Karenina Audience Reviews

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.
GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
ShangLuda Admirable film.
pinardumlupinar11 Such an extraordinary screenplay! thanks to #tomstoppard one can experience a totally different version of Anna Karenina, a unique version.. yes, the screenplay is not the exact copy of the novel, but it creates its own version not sticking to the original one. however in some parts it might have been better to keep it a little traditional, maybe just to keep that tense darkness of the novel.and #joewright did an excellent job in this movie. that stream which makes you feel like watching a different kind of a musical.. it is really mesmerising !#keiraknightley is absolutely fascinating! the most identifying thing about Anna Karenina is those historical moments and #keiraknightley is really perfect in those scenes..#judelaw is also very good.. however I wish someone else played Vronsky, not because Aaron Taylor johnson is not good at acting, but he is not what novel makes one picture Kont Vronsky in his/her (at least my) mind.And I think #seamusmcgarvey should have won the award for the best achievement in cinematography.. at most of the scenes I felt like stopping and getting a screenshot just to keep that beautiful beautiful picture! that's pure art! Marvelous job!!
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.
Nikita Wannenburgh Overall, I was very disappointed. The script was painfully slow- moving, the story was foggy and vague, and the brilliant talents of Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Matthew MacFadyen were solely underused in a tragic romance where the miscasts took centre stage. Visually, however, the film was stunning. The costumes were gorgeous and the cinematography was beautiful. It was clear that the creators favoured appearance over substance. The secondary cast was very good, especially Domhnall Gleeson and Matthew MacFadyen. I'm a big fan of Alicia Vikander, but it's only towards the end that her character actually became watchable. Matthew MacFadyen was refreshing comic-relief, and I only wish we'd seen more of him. Out of the three leads, Jude Law was the only one to fit his role perfectly; he played his part subtly and brilliantly. His performance was flawless. Aaron Taylor Johnson was watchable, but the blonde hair just didn't work for me. Most of the time he looked out of place; with a watery performance that matched only Knightley's. I have never liked Kiera Knightley as an actress, but I was ready to put aside my bias and look for the positives in her performance. Unfortunately, I only found her acting more infuriating and shallow. Her smiles are forced, her emotions never reach her eyes, and she might as well still be acting for Pirates of the Caribbean. Her performance was very hard to watch, and – part the writer's fault, I'm sure – she never allows Anna's grief to come full circle. As a result, I struggled to feel sorry for the character, and Anna's emotional journey – as well as her external one concerning her society life – was never strong enough or powerful enough to deliver depth and evoke sympathy. Overall, the film was visually stunning, but it lacks heart and substance to carry the enormous weight of Tolstoy's profound story.
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.