Mini Blog
I saw the trailer for Anna Karenina when I was at the cinema with my friend who is a big fan of period dramas. We'd previously seen The Young Victoria and The Duchess together and loved both of those movies more than either of us would have guessed. Therefore as soon as we saw the trailer for Anna we knew we wanted to see it.
Unfortunately the film did not live up to the expectations. It was unnecessarily long with some sequences seeming as though they'd been included just for the sake of showing off the staging. I also felt that the film being set in a theatre didn't really work in it's favour. I felt like the actors should have burst into spontanious song, and if I'm honest I was disappointed that they didn't. As a person who dislikes musicals at the best of times I'm sure this speaks volumes about how dull the whole thing was that I felt making it a musical would liven up proceedings.
Finally to the actors. Knightley was her usual pouty self, despite re-assurances from director Joe Wright that he'd put a stop to that. She's great in some scenes but her character has a tendency to be whiny and needy which is not a great combination. The usually charasmatic Law is faced with the task of making an emotionally detached character likeable, and while you do feel sorry for him, you never really warm to him. Finally, Taylor-Johnson just feels too young to be in the role of Count Vronsky and nowhere near charming enough to win over the affections of a married noble lady.
I found the secondary stories involving Levin and Kitty and Oblonsky and Dolly held my interest a lot better than the main love triangle (if you can call it that), and especially thought that Domhnall Gleeson is one to watch.
All in all it was too long and too boring and I couldn't wait for it to end. Which incidently felt like it should have done long before the credits rolled. A disappointing 5 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 20th September 2012
UK Release Date - 7th September 2012
Cast Overview:
Keira Knightley ~ Anna Karenina
Aaron Taylor-Johnson ~ Count Vronsky
Jude Law ~ Alexei Karenin
Kelly MacDonald ~ Dolly
Matthew MacFadyen ~ Oblonsky
Emily Watson ~ Countess Lydia
Olivia Williams ~ Countess Vronsky
Domhnall Gleeson ~ Levin
Alicia Vikander ~ Kitty
Director ~ Joe Wright
Writer(s) ~ Tom Stoppard (Screenplay) and Leo Tolstoy (Novel)
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