Anna Karenina (2012)Movie Reviews

Great Movie

This movie honors Russia and so many Russian traditions; done in the style of The Ark, another great movie about Russia. The transitions, costumes, details in the scenes are so well done. Really enjoyed it.

Anna Karenina

Acting was great. Unusual mixture of theater setting and regular settings mixed well with scenes that went outdoors and made the story which could be quite long if done differently, move quickly. Clothes were fabulous, scenery was very well done and Keira Kneightly was fabulous. Jude Law was very convincing as her husband.

Expensive Failure

Great production values, visuals, costumes. Pretty good acting. But the movie doesn't work. The notion of staging many scenes as though in a theatre, and cutting to "reality" is off-putting. Characters aren't clerly enough differentiated, and the central love affair isn't well set up.

Story line was good but scene transitions were annoying

I enjoyed the story line, as I had not read the book. However, they transitioned between scenes as if it was a play. That made it very hard to get into the story and feel compassion or any other type of feeling for the characters because the transitions took you out of the story. I would wait for video.

Anna Karinenna

I loved the movie.
I was ready not to like it, because it received poor reviews, but to my surprise, I found the play within a movie format miraculous and beautiful. I've always enjoyed Tom Stoppard.
The cinematography, the acting, and the directing carried me into the mind of a 19th century woman who dared to challenge the social mores of her time, and paid the price. More than that,
the themes are universal.
Finally, after many attempts, I've resolved to get through the book!

Absolutely Breathtaking!

My mother and I went to see this film.. What a wonderful experience to be able to see such a beautiful piece together. The scenery, the costumes, the staging; all were magnificent, to say the least. Keira Knightly is just gorgeous, and her portrayal of Anna was perfect. Jude Law was outstading as the controlling husband, cuckolded, then becoming vindictive. There was a bit of poetic licence with regard to the Count's role, but I don't think Tolstoy would have minded the slight tweak. Accurate, however, were the references to the class differences of the time. All in all, Anna Karenina was the type of film I adore; an escape from the every day.

Powerful story presented in an unique way

Did not read Tolstoy's book but the movie presented a powerful emotional story. But it was presented in a unique way which I found somewhat distracting and seemed to lessen the impact for me. But it is definitely worth seeing.

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing!!! Keira Knightley is as poignant is ever. She couldn't play her role any better...touching, romantic, sentimental...a real tearjerker. ITs just like the book apparently!

The cinematography needs some work, as it mirrors that of a theatrical performance and not a film with the moving and stagelike backdrop walls.

Riveting plot and great acting ...highly recommend it!

Lack of substance

In trying to make a movie of such a huge novel, the main characters were all kept, but they were not well developed, and much was glossed over.
The story would have been much better served in a 4-6 hour setting of mini-series or multiple movies.
I really couldn't get involved with the characters, given their poor development.

Don't go....

I must not be a movie snob. This was the longest 2 hours of my life. Even my wife agreed.

Well acted classic

Thoroughly enjoyable experience. Beautiful costumes and cinematography. Ms Knightley gives a solid performance as the woman who gives it all up for love Supporting cast is excellent as well. Jude Law is remarkable and gives a sympathetic performance as the betrayed husband.

Weird production choice

The idea that it's played out in some sort of "operetta" was a weird production decision. It was difficult to know who was doing what, where. It moved verrrry fast. The story is CLASSIC and a must-read for anyone who ever enjoyed a high school english class where the concepts of theme, irony, symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. are the focus. The story is FULL of that and double meanings. I would have enjoyed it much more if it was just played out as a regular movie with a story and a set - period. Although, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is so crazy, incredibly GORGEOUS it's almost worth seeing just for that! The acting was great but the premise was...well...not for everyone. Unfortunately I'd suspect that more people hated it than enjoyed it just for that reason alone. Which is a shame because the story is timeless and classic.

Anna Karenina

Starting watching waiting for the actual movie to start. I get the director was trying artistic by setting it on a stage and the settings and costumes were incredible. However, the content of the story itself was fragmented and lost. I spent the whole night trying to piece it together and follow the storyline.
The A-list cast did their best with what they were given but if you compare it to the book it does the book and the author no justice.
Wait for this movie to come out on dvd or On-Demand, not worth the $10 you will spend to watch it in the theater.

Amazing

Stylized, beautiful production

"Anna Karenina" was not how I envisioned the film version of this beautifully sad novel. Bordered on being a little too campy at times, but I think this production gets the emotions right and the presents the moral dilemma seriously. The costumes are gorgeous and so are the leading actors. Jude Law is perfect as poor Anna's morally stiff and suffering husband. In my head, Vronski was always dark, but I loved this blonde, blue-eyed lover. Keira Knightley was the perfect Anna - complicated, passionate but reserved, selfish but tortured, so much sadness in her joy. I enjoyed it, but was thinking it would be more like Dr. Zhivago in its seriousness and not quite so playful.