“Anna Karenina” is based on Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel about love and betrayal. Keira Knightley stars as the title character, and she’s become a pro at these period pieces. In fact, “Karenina” is her third film with director Joe Wright (the two previously collaborated on “Atonement” and “Pride & Prejudice”). However, this is not your ordinary period film.
“Anna Karenina” is structured like a play – and not just with continuous shots and elaborate costumes. Much of the film takes place on an actual stage. Often Wright times uses this device for quick transitions from scene to scene and location to location simply by just using a few props and having characters walk on and off the stage, while not acknowledging it whatsoever. This is common (and necessary) with plays but rarely has this style been used for a motion picture. It’s a masterful achievement, and one of the strong points of the film.
The staged setting plays a major role in not only the look of “Anna Karenina”, but the narrative as well. It turns this sweeping epic into a very personal character study. The opening scene appropriately begins with a title curtain, and then establishes the time and place: 1874 Russia. This sets the tone for what’s to come. Anna (Knightley) is married to Karenin (Jude Law), who’s an important government official. The couple has a young son.
Anna travels to Moscow to meet-up with her brother, but is also introduced to a military officer named Vronsky (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson). They are immediately attracted to each other. But Anna has been happily married to Karenin and she is a member of Russian high society. An affair with Vronsky would endanger all of that. But she goes ahead anyway and soon everyone learns that Anna and Vronsky are lovers. Needless to say, they don’t exactly live happily ever after.
In most modern-day romantic dramas, the cheating wife (or husband) waits until the last half-hour or so to finally tell her spouse about the affair. But in “Anna Karenina” that scene happens less than halfway into the film. This gives plenty of time for the drama between the three members of this love triangle to play out.
There are also two important subplots, one involving Anna’s brother Oblonsky (Matthew Macfayden) who’s also cheating on his wife Dolly (played by Kelly MacDonald) and the other features Levin (Oblosnky’s best friend), who’s hopelessly in love with Dolly’s younger sister. All of this together may sound like a Russian version of “The Young and the Restless”, these two other examples of romantic relationships work nicely as contrasts to the main storyline.
Knightley gives a fine performance, though I wish I felt more of the inner turmoil that her character had to be dealing with. Taylor-Johnson is completely miscast as Vronsky. It just isn’t believable that Anna would fall for him instantly. The character, as Taylor-Johnson plays him, simply isn’t handsome or charismatic enough for her to give-up everything. The stand-out acting performance is delivered by Law who gets to show a wide range as the cheated-on husband.
The other work worth honoring is Wright’s. He makes all the right decisions in the use of the stage and the lighting for dramatic effect, along with the elaborate sets and costumes. Several of the shots are simply brilliant, including a side view of Law sitting in a chair centerstage with the lights in front of him dimmed down as he’s soaking in the information he’s just received.
“Anna Karenina” is rated R for some adult content and violence. It’s appropriate for teens and up. It does drag a little in the final act. But with it’s innovative structure, terrific score, set design and choreography. And it’s been honored with an Oscar nomination for Costume Design.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Anna Karenina” gets a B.