Review 187: Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is a deplorable film and a a spit in the face to a classic piece of literature.

Based on the novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Trapped in a loveless marriage, Anna  looks for a better life, but finds only a more complicated one.

The plot of the book is horribly written and I can't believe it was written by the great Tom Stoppard They tried to make all Psychological like Inception but you know-it just didn't work. Actually Anna Karenina is blurred: is it a Psychological Thriller. is it a Period drama. You can't really tell. In fact I think it would be a very hard book to adapt to the big screen (I know because my dads read it), on the other hand you get the sense that so little effort has been put into making the film, there's a lack of focus on Anna's relationship with Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the multiple storylines weave poorly with the main story, you get no character development, no character depth, no drama and the film does little to nothing to explore the impact of Anna's death on the other characters.

Director Joe Wright directs this film with far too much style or attempt at style, the production design looks tacky, it all takes place on a stage and not in 1870's Russia and the way it shifts from one set to another is just weird, the editing is choppy, there's all this flashbacking and stuff like that and it goes on for far too long, although there are some positive aspects, the score by Dario Marianelli is sensational, the costume design is gorgeous, the make up is rich and the cinematography is beautiful.

The acting is horrible, Keira Knightley feels completely miscast and lost in the titular role, her performance was so soulless and lackluster, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is hopeless as Count Vronsky and he and Knightley have no chemistry whatsoever, altough Jude Law however is fine as Alexei Karenin, Anna's wife, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Olivia Williams, Emily Watson and Alicia Vikander are fine in their small roles.

Anna Karenina is an insult to to a classic book and a true example of bad film adaptation, 1.5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.