Monday, August 5, 2013

Anna Karenina 2012


Anna Karenina     The action in this version is set in a theater and goes from scene to scene by using different spaces of the same set.  The story is set in Imperial Russia of 1874.  Anna is a wealthy aristocrat with a cold marriage but she has a son she adores.  She travels to Saint Petersburg to save the marriage of her brother Prince Oblonsky because he had a love affair with his housemaid.  She meets Count Vronsky at the train station and soon learns he is ready to propose to Kitty.  She is the younger sister of her brother’s wife Dolly.  Anna resolves the difficulties in her brother’s marriage but causes attention from the conservative society by dancing with Vronksy at a ball.  Her husband has a conversation with her about the the bad taste of setting yourself up for possible rumors.
     How many times has this same story been released as a movie?  The heavy weight of the theatrical framework style is a disadvantage and makes this seem very weird.  The scenery, costumes and jewelry are very beautiful but everything else seems hollow.  I also question the casting, I see many of Knightley’s expressions and gestures in her acting which detract from her character.  Johnson as Vronsky doesn’t work for me at all?  3* (This movie is OK)
 
130 min, Drama directed by Joe Wright with Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen, Eric MacLennan, Kelly Macdonald, Theo Morrissey, Cecily Morrissey.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.6 out of 10, 63% critic 52% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

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