Anna Karenina Review

Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina has been adapted yet again. The 7^th titled version of the film in English since 1915, it comes as no wonder that British director, Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice 2005, Atonement 2007), has taken the story somewhere truly…different.

Whilst the film stays true to the main idea of Tolstoy, that is, a well-respected upper class married woman who shocks society by having an affair with another man, Wright takes true creative liberty in his adaptation of the novel. Rather than the breathtaking journey through Russia that the novel takes, Wright confines almost the entirety of the film to a theatre.

This decision can be read in a number of ways that make it look sincerely clever, for instance having the entire set screaming the metaphor “the world is a stage”, as it would seem to be for Anna Karenina, whose private life is the gossip of the country, or allowing for scenes where the upper-class men are literally “looking down” on the rest of society, as they are standing in the rafters of the theatre. The choice, however, comes across as quite heavy handed. Perhaps just one or two scenes set in the theatre would have more subtly conveyed the idea.

Another disappointing, but unsurprising, choice made by Wright is his casting of Anna Karenina. Keira Knightly (Pride and Prejudice 2005, Atonement 2007), though wonderful at making fast-talking, scathing remarks whilst looking down her nose and lifting her chin, doesn’t seem to capture the entirety of the emotion felt by Anna Karenina.

The film does not truly capture what Tolstoy is able to, but it is still a visually stunning piece of art with amazing backdrops and divine costuming, and as a story within itself it is deserving of commendation.

If you are looking for an accurate adaptation of the novel, however, consider looking somewhere else.