Review of Anna Karenina (2012) by Luke G — 24 Jun 2013

Joe Wright's delivery and execution is a bold experiment as he films his actors seamlessly going from a stage play and then on to the real world and vice-versa. While I found it a fascinating element to be used in a dramatic feature film, it can also be polarizing while at the same time providing the necessary lift for its tepid narrative.

This is the third collaboration between Wright and Keira Knightley, with the other two being "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement". It is also the weakest of the three. It may also be because the main protagonist is portrayed as a self-absorbed, cruel individual that in the end, one just stops caring altogether. As a result, "Anna Karenina" becomes an exercise in style (film production) over substance (narrative).