Review! Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina (2012) Directed by Joe Wright.  Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. IMDB says: “Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.”

I only ever knew of this story because it was a book by Leo Tolstoy. I thought the cover art was cool and the title was interesting, but I never picked up the book. I heard they were making a film of it and decided that was just as nice. Without having any prior knowledge of the story or characters, I walked into theaters with no expectations; I was half-rewarded.

The film opens inside a theatre and the film transforms itself into an ever-changing Russian theatrical portrayal. Scenes transition before your eyes as extras become stagehands moving set pieces from scene to scene with such beauty and ease that it looks like director Joe Wright was able to bottle perfection and serve it to us in gorgeous single shots. It’s an approach that pays off tenfold in a breathtaking ballroom scene that sets a bar that the rest of the film just can’t match. The first half of the film follows this transitioning beauty, but when it reaches its halfway mark, it ditches the cascading visuals, loses its steam, and becomes boring and tedious.

The score, set pieces, and costumes are fantastic and really set the stage for 19th century Russia. What takes away from it, is the fact that all of the actors and actresses don’t speak a word of Russian. Some of the music in the background has faint Russian vocals and there are Russian words painted onto buildings and trains, but the actors/actresses don’t even use Russian accents! The film is by a Russian author, takes place in two Russian cities, yet it fails to really encapsulate and deliver on the Russian experience, leaving the viewer wanting just a bit more.

Aside from the missing accents, the performances are across the board solid. Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Matthew MacFadyen, Kelly MacDonald, Domhnall Gleeson, and many others all play to their strengths and bring across empathetic and engaging characters. Now this is where I again remind you that I have never read the book, nor do I know anything about the characters, but Keira Knightley’s performance as Anna Karenina is difficult. Her character becomes very unlikable at one point and Knightley pushes that emotion way down our throats making an all too convincing case to strongly dislike Karenina and show her no remorse. My gut tells me the character is written just a bit softer, with more humility on display, allowing the viewer to feel some strand of empathy for her as her life begins a painful and heartbreaking downward spiral. This isn’t to say Knightley’s performance isn’t good, on the contrary, it’s great like the others, but I feel she leaned real hard on her character the second half of the film and brought out a side that was more ugly than what was intended. It’s her performance, along with the film’s overall dragging second half that really takes you out of the film and leaves you there waiting for the film to wrap itself up in ways that should have been obvious to the viewer all along.

The film is worth checking out for the visuals of the first half alone, but those looking for a story will find themselves asking for a bit more. This film is more of a “rent-it-when-it comes-out” than it is a “race-to-the-theatres-and-see-it”.

Anna Karenina has a huge thing going for it–this film is incredibly gorgeous. The cinematography, set design, and costumes come together in a visual feast. This is certainly in keeping with Joe Wright’s other films. I loved Atonement and Hanna and again he delivers something new and elegant that chews up the big screen. It’s only when you concentrate on the story that this film knocks down a notch.

It’s hard for me to put it down in that respect because I know it is a supremely well regarded novel. Part of this could be the adaptation, so I’m not sure how much of my issues with the story have to do with Tolstoy’s original work. Perhaps it’s that I’ve seen so many stories on film before dealing with affairs but this film doesn’t offer much on the well tread story. Only in this film it’s so hard to find anything redeeming in the woman having the affair. Her husband (played by a sort of uglied up Jude Law) is actually very accepting and devoted, if a little cold. The affair is based on a very carnal desire that turns inexplicably into love and you’re left with a ruined Anna. I really didn’t feel sorry for her though and I don’t know if I was supposed to which I think is a fault of the film.

Part of me thinks my issue is with Knightley. I don’t dislike her as an actress but I also don’t care for her especially. It’s hard when all of her parts, which have almost entirely been period pieces, seem to run together. If Anna had been played by someone else I might have felt different about the character, but the way I related to her (in that I mostly couldn’t) became the weakest part of the film.

Watch this for the beautiful spectacle, but I’m not sure how well the story will hold up with others. There’s actually a side story involving Anna’s sister-in-law’s sister and a man who is in love with her that had me far more engaged than the main plot. That’s definitely an issue that had me coming out of the theater with very mixed reactions. What really makes the impression is Wright’s exquisite composition, and left me feeling lukewarm to Tolstoy  which he may or may not deserve.