Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina  [R]

Anna Karenina is based on the novel of the same title written by Leo Tolstoy in the late 1800's.  Anna is an aristocrat in Russian society, married to a highly respected government official.  She meets the dashing Count Vronsky and they begin a scandalous affair.

Crystl:  I would like to begin by saying that I have read this book and didn't really like it.  I wanted to watch it because it is a classic novel and I was intrigued by the visuals in the trailer.

The movie followed the novel very closely, so needless to say, I didn't love the story.  I do have to say that I loved the visualization and daring staging of the movie.  It was staged as a play in a theater which made it very strange at first, but then very apt as everything that an aristocratic socialite would have done back then might as well have been on a stage because of the way people knew everything and you couldn't hide or have any private information.  It was very interesting the way the director used the stage idea.  I was disappointed that the director exactly recreated a scene from a previous movie he directed; Pride and Prejudice.  I mean it was EXACTLY the same scene, even with the same actress. 

The actors did fine, but that's all I can say is just fine.  I haven't really seen a movie with Kiera Knightly where I thought she did an amazing job [Joe: I think she was best in A Dangerous Method.  Um, sorry to interrupt].  Honestly I didn't like her character either so that probably didn't help.  Some of the best acting was done by, in my opinion, who the hero and heroine of the story really were: Kitty and Levin.  I liked their story and maybe that's why I liked them better.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy a tragedy or who have read and enjoyed the book.  It was a good visualization, but the acting could have been better.

Joe:  I liked how it was presented, it was beautifully done.  The surreal blur between stage and real world environments was a cool artistic technique.  Unfortunately I thought the story was a little boring.  If you're a fan of the story you might like it, but I had a hard time connecting with it.

Also, I just want to say that I can't stand the music in the trailer.  Up, down, up, down.  It's like the composer was just swinging back and forth on the piano keys.  When it's actually music it's good.

Crystl:  I give it 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Joe:  I would agree with that.