Anna Karenina (2012 film)


Anna Karenina is a 2012 historical romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright. Adapted by Tom Stoppard from Leo Tolstoy's 1877 novel of the same name and a remake of the 1985 film of the same name, the film depicts the tragedy of Russian aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina, wife of senior statesman Alexei Karenin, and her affair with the affluent cavalry officer Count Vronsky. Keira Knightley stars in the lead role as Karenina, marking her third collaboration with Wright following both Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, while Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson appear as Karenin and Vronsky, respectively. Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander appear in key supporting roles.
Produced by Working Title Films in association with StudioCanal, the film premiered at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival. It was released on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom and on 9 November 2012 in the United States. Anna Karenina earned a worldwide gross of approximately $69 million, mostly from its international run. It earned an approval rating of 63% from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised the cast, but commented on and criticised the heavily stylised adaptation, and were less enthusiastic with Wright's preference for style over substance and his idea of setting most of the action on a theatre stage.
It earned four nominations at the 85th Academy Awards and six nominations at the 66th British Academy Film Awards, winning Jacqueline Durran both prizes for Best Costume Design. In addition, Anna Karenina garnered six nominations at the 17th Satellite Awards, including a Best Actress nod for Knightley and Best Adapted Screenplay for Stoppard.

Plot

In the Russian Empire in 1874, Princess Darya, also known as "Dolly", banishes her unfaithful husband Prince Stephan "Stiva" Oblonsky. Stiva's sister, Anna Karenina, a socialite living Saint Petersburg with her older husband Count Alexei Karenin, and son Seryozha, travels to Moscow to persuade Dolly to forgive her husband.
Stiva meets old friend Konstantin Levin, a landowning aristocrat despised by Moscow's elite for preferring the countryside to city life. Levin says he loves Stiva's sister-in-law, Princess Kitty, and Stiva encourages him to propose. Kitty declines as she hopes to marry Count Alexei Vronsky, a wealthy officer. Levin meets his older brother Nikolai, who has renounced his inheritance and married Masha, a prostitute. Nikolai suggests Levin marry a peasant. On the train, Anna meets Vronsky's mother, Countess Vronskaya, isolated by her own infidelity. Anna meets Vronsky and they are instantly attracted to each other. Anna eventually convinces Dolly to take Stiva back. At a ball, Kitty attempts to dance with Vronsky, but he prefers Anna, upsetting Kitty. Vronsky tells Anna he must be wherever she goes.
Vronsky and Anna soon begin to stir gossip. Despite the fact that he has a promotion awaiting him in Tashkent, Anna persuades him to stay. They later meet and make love.
Stiva informs Levin that Kitty and Vronsky will not be married. Levin focuses on country life and contemplates marrying a worker's daughter.
Anna and Seryozha go to the Karenin estate. Anna visits Vronsky and reveals her pregnancy. He wants her to leave Karenin. Anna suggests Karenin come to the horse races but betrays her feelings when Vronsky's horse falls. Afterwards, Anna admits she is Vronsky's mistress and Karenin says she must renounce him. Levin realises he still loves Kitty. Months later, Anna receives Vronsky. He tells her that his military duties have delayed his visit. Karenin discovers Vronsky visited and steals his letters in order to give himself grounds for a divorce.
Karenin visits Stiva and Dolly to say he is divorcing Anna. They beg him to forgive her, but he refuses. Levin and Kitty, having reunited, announce their love and marry. Anna goes into premature labour and sends for Vronsky, although she later says he could never be the man Karenin is. Karenin returns, believing Anna is dying and forgives her. Anna survives and decides to stay with her husband.
Vronsky persuades Anna to change her mind and they leave for Italy with their daughter, Anya.
Levin and Kitty return to his estate, where a sickly Nikolai and Masha live in a storeroom. Levin tells Kitty he will send Masha away so Kitty does not have to meet her, but Kitty ignores societal norms to help Masha nurse Nikolai. Levin's love for Kitty grows.
Anna returns to Saint Petersburg for Seryozha's birthday, but Karenin dismisses her. Anna begins to suspect Vronsky of infidelity. She attends the opera with Princess Myagkaya, an outspoken socialite, but the society types shun her. Humiliated, Anna retains her poise, only to break down at her hotel. She uses morphine to sleep.
Dolly tells her Kitty is in Moscow to give birth. Dolly says Stiva's behaviour is unchanged, but she has come to accept and love him.
Vronsky informs Anna he must meet his mother for business. Anna becomes upset when Princess Sorokina gives Vronsky a ride, as she believes Countess Vronskaya wants Vronsky to marry her. Anna returns to Vronsky's estate. On the train, she imagines Vronsky and Princess Sorokina making love and laughing at her. Arriving at Moscow, Anna says to herself, "Oh God..." and jumps under a train. The scene flashes to a shocked Vronsky.
Levin returns home from work to find Kitty bathing their child. Stiva and his family eat with Levin and Kitty. Karenin, retired, is seen at his estate, with Seryozha and Anya playing.

Cast

was hired to direct an adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy novel Anna Karenina, his fourth collaboration with Working Title Films. Wright shot most of his film on a single soundstage, representing a dilapidated theatre, at Shepperton Studios outside London. Italian composer Dario Marianelli composed the film score, while Jacqueline Durran served as the costume designer. Sarah Greenwood was in charge of production design. Wright has worked with all three in past productions, including on the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice. Further crew members include cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, editor Melanie Ann Oliver, and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
The cast include Keira Knightley as Anna, Jude Law as her husband, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as her young love, and Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson as Konstantin Levin, as well as Kelly Macdonald, Olivia Williams, Matthew Macfadyen, Michelle Dockery, and Tannishtha Chatterjee. Saoirse Ronan and Andrea Riseborough were initially cast in the film, but dropped out and were replaced by Alicia Vikander and Ruth Wilson, respectively. Ronan, stated that her reasoning behind turning down the role of Kitty was the film's long production schedule. It would have required her to turn down movie roles from autumn 2011 to late spring 2012, to film what would have ended up as a supporting role. By turning down the role, she was able to take the lead roles in Byzantium and The Host. The Borgias star Holliday Grainger had a minor role as Baroness Shilton.
In July 2011, Keira Knightley began rehearsals, in preparation for principal filming which began later in 2011. Filming began in October 2011. The film was distributed by Focus Features in North America and by Universal Pictures International for international markets. The film was released on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom and 9 November 2012 in the United States.

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 190 reviews, with an average rating of 6.52/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Joe Wright's energetic adaptation of Tolstoy's classic romance is a bold, visually stylized work -- for both better and worse." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Oliver Lyttleton of The Playlist awarded the film a B+ and called the picture a "bold reimagining" of the classic novel, comparing Wright's vision to the films of Powell and Pressburger. He noted how Knightley "continues to go from strength to strength" and also praised Law as "excellent". Even though he speculated that "the film is going to divide people enormously", he concluded it was one to "cherish despite its flaws". Ian Freer of Empire awarded the film four stars out of five and was effervescent in his praise for Wright and the final result: he said "Anna Karenina militantly doesn't want to be just another costume drama; it attacks the heavyweight concerns of Russian literature with wit and verve; most exciting of all, it is filmmaking of the highest order, channeling every other art form from painting to ballet to puppetry while remaining completely cinematic". He lauded the entire cast for their work yet concluded that "this is really its director's movie".
In The Observer, Jason Solomons also called Knightley "superb", and declared that the film "works beautifully... elegant and exciting ...incredibly cinematic". Leslie Felperin of Variety was more reserved in her praise for the film, observing that although Wright "knows how to get the best from Knightley" and noting that the film was technically "glorious", it was also "unmistakably chilly" in the storytelling. The Daily Mirror singled out Knightley as "excellent" and lauded Wright for "offer a fresh vision of the Tolstoy classic", concluding the picture to be "with its beautiful cinematography and costumes... a real success".
Others were less impressed with the film and Wright's take on such a classic text. The Hertfordshire Mercury conceded that "costumes and art direction are ravishing, and Seamus McGarvey's cinematography shimmers with rich colour", but ultimately found there to be "no obvious method behind this production design madness". Stella Papamichael of Digital Spy also awarded the picture only two stars out of five, commenting that "the third time isn't such a charm for director Joe Wright and muse Keira Knightley". Although she found the actress "luminous in the role" she criticised Wright for "outshining" his star and affecting the narrative momentum by "favouring a glossy look over probing insights into a complicated character". Neil Smith of Total Film also awarded the film two out of five stars, lamenting the fact that Wright's elaborate stage design "pull the attention away from where it should be... keeps at arm's length, forever highlighting the smoke, mirrors and meticulous stage management that have been pressed into service to make his big idea a reality". He also dismissed Knightley's performance as "less involving" than her "similar" turn in The Duchess. Richard Brody of The New Yorker criticized Wright for diverging from Tolstoy, without adding anything beyond superficialities in return: "Wright, with flat and flavorless images of an utterly impersonal banality, takes Tolstoy's plot and translates it into a cinematic language that's the equivalent of, say, Danielle Steel, simultaneously simplistic and overdone."

Accolades