Review of Anna Karenina (2012) by Brent T — 30 Jul 2013

First, clearly Keira Knightly gives a great performance -- better than the two stars given here. But I'm illiterate as to the original text (in Russian or English), and this is a glorified soap opera which in it's day might have been fresh -- but in 2013 is a stale retread story.

Being thus uninitiated, the style was very confusing. Does the story take place on a stage (are these characters actors/actresses)? No. Is this a film version of a play? Well... no again. Apparently this has been filmed a half dozen or more times, and this quirky (confusing) choice was to make the story fresh.

Dicaprio and Danes doing Romeo & Juliet was a similar departure that worked. Last, this film should be PG-13; they must have paid for the rating, because there are many, clearly movies far more deserving the R rating.

So this was my attempt to enjoy a cerebral and cultural piece. Huge disappointment.