Anna Karenina (2012)Movie Reviews


  • Go Based on 8,399 reviews
    Breakdown:
  • Go
    Written December 28, 2012

    Visually Stunning

    by FLASH1465

    I rate this film an A. I have never read the novel so I went in blind. It is a visually stunning film!! The set design and costuming were top notch. The fact that it is part play and part film is a new concept to me and worked well. Keira is beautiful and perhaps the best period piece actress I've ever seen (Atonement and Pride & Prejudice). Her performance is fantastic, believable, moving, and deserving of any nominations that come her way. GO see it.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written December 11, 2012

    Tolstoy slaughtered by High School film class ....

    by kcbk

    Trying to be artistic, this film is just weird. Staged like a Mary Poppins musical but no one sings. Several in our audience just got up and left. I heard a few snores. Costumes were nice. Especially hats. Can't believe this film actually got made. Leo might be laughing from the grave---or crying. Watch grass grow -- cheaper entertainment.

    • 21 out of 37 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Must Go!
    Written November 18, 2012

    Stoppard and Wright take the Plunge

    by Dimitri Sevastopoulo

    For those who have NOT read or read about "Anna Karenina", this film will be a tough slog. I have read Tolstoy's masterpiece and shall read it again, but watching Tom Stoppard and Joe Wright being interviewed by Charlie Rose made this version of the movie a rewarding
    experience. It is bold, risky, exciting, sensual, elegant,dramatic. Keira Knightly is magnificent and Jude Law is brilliant. The novel is 800 pages. This film is two hours. Stoppard has conveyed the fiery passion of Anna and the deep, moral love of her husband. Has pure Tolstoy been compromised? Indeed it has and such is true of not only all other Kareninas but also of most movies based upon books. This film is a work of theater and will be appreciated in time. I shall see it again.

    • 13 out of 21 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Must Go!
    Written December 2, 2012

    A must see!

    by Sabq

    The hype about the movie didn't disappoint. Excellent acting by all the characters. Of course it is always challenging for a movie to live up to the book, but this was a good adaptation. Not only did I enjoy the movie, but also the AMC courthouse cinema theatre in Arlington with its ever so comfy seats!

    • 15 out of 25 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • So-so
    Written November 18, 2012

    Very pretty, but....

    by raskin46

    This isn't Pride and Prejudice....it's more a Chanel commercial for Tolstoy. The movie is very stylized to the detriment of characterization....Count Vronksy is a 19th Century club kid until he suddenly becomes emotionally adult (but nothing leads you to that conclusion) and the same goes with Anna, the dutiful wife who shuns Vronsky and then is suddenly in bed with him and on and on. I really liked Matthew Macfadyen (who teams up with Knightley again), as Anna's brother...I've never seen him so alive and animated (he usually seems dull and plodding). I'd say go see it if you like Tolstoy....but despite the beauty, I was struggling to literally stay awake at 10am on a Saturday morning.

    • 8 out of 12 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • No
    Written December 22, 2012

    SEMI MUSICAL FEEL TO IT...SEMI IMPRESSED

    by cinemafan1965

    I was somewhat disappointed with the music and cinematography arrangement. I was expecting to see something that felt like a drama with an interesting historical lesson. However, what I got was a story with the kind of music from a production like Annie. I almost thought someone was going to be flying across the screen or something. I like some musicals... just not what I expected when I bought my ticket.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • No
    Written December 2, 2012

    Beautifully shot, odd "theatrical setting", No chemistry, I almost fell asleep

    by

    The movie must have cost a fortune to make because the cinematography, costumes and stage were all visually stunning. But Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" is at its heart a very Russian tale and the cast of mostly British actors and actresses did not capture the uniquely "Russian Soul" (????) of the story. In other words: No passion or chemistry to connect to. In the end, it just all seemed to fall short for me.

    BTW, if you speak Russian you can watch the 1967 Russian version for free here:
    bit . ly / YnECqg

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Must Go!
    Written December 2, 2012

    Fantastic Choreography & Magnificent Sets!

    by SteveWeatherstone

    It is very hard to describe this movie, partly because I have never seen anything like it before! The formal dancing is incredibly intricate, & the way the actors move back and forth between theater and real life is very entertaining. The sets and costumes are also first rate, a feast for the eyes! Just be ready for intense emotion between various characters as the movie progresses!

    • 6 out of 8 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • So-so
    Written December 31, 2012

    ugh . . . .

    by kjstrom

    Thankfully my daughter told me about the whole "set on a stage" scenario of this movie, otherwise I would have been completely baffled. Even being prepared for it, though, I thought it was really strange. I didn't like that at all. I wish it had just been shot like a normal movie. Maybe I'm just not "artsy" enough, but it really kind of ruined the movie for me.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Go
    Written December 3, 2012

    Anna Karenina

    by ghyoung

    Beautiful, artsy, imaginative, and original, but just a bit slow. The tension of improper love vs. societal mores filled the movie, but was paced and interjected well. Costumes were great along with the sets. The scene dancing in the ballroom was amazing. Kids might be bored. It should be rated R considering the sexuality in the movie.

    • 7 out of 10 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Must Go!
    Written December 16, 2012

    Stylized, beautiful production

    by

    "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.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • No
    Written December 9, 2012

    Anna Karenina

    by michaelmagdol

    Costuming was lovely. Characters all attractive to look at.
    Substantively the film was a disappointment, using some of the core themes of a classic novel to deliver of story of unfaithfulness and retribution without any insights into the characters other than they do everything with style (of the period?).

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Go
    Written December 6, 2012

    Anna Karenina

    by MissBee3867

    Good movie. Different presentation for a classic. Costumes were wonderful and so were the scenes. Worth to see with your girlfriends. Guys might not appreciate it.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • No
    Written December 3, 2012

    Anna Kareniina - Not Enough of a Movie

    by bwayopera_buff

    While Anna Karenina was visually stunning, the entire movie seemed disjointed. Keira Knightley and the rest of the cast performed beautifully, but I think the filmakers made a big mistake in making this movie only 2 1/2 hours long. The Leo Tolstoy book is over 800 pages and it seems like a lot was left out that would have developed the characters better and made the plot less confusing.

    • 5 out of 6 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • So-so
    Written December 8, 2012

    Artistic production leaves one wanting........

    by pitchhiker

    Anna was a daring artistic mixture of stage play and reality, but the production was lost on me. What could have been an extraordinary motion picture left me cold with only the fine performance of the main actors to save it. My Bet? It will either go down as an artistic masterpiece or a colossal flop. The movie going public will decide. Pitchhiker, Sarasota FL

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No

Anna Karenina (2012) Movie Reviews + Ratings

Fans say

Go
8,399 fan reviews

Critics say

Go See all critic reviews

Tweets About Anna Karenina (2012)

83% positive
Join the conversation

LoveLustLine Someone retweeted my Anna Karenina post. I was watching the movie with Keira Knightley as Anna not the tv show from Ch.7!!!!!!

8 days ago.

Catalysis_Comms #FactOfTheDay Anna Karenina is over 800 pages long, but it was originally published in serialized form. #BookClub

8 days ago.

SaraPMeneses There was something terrible and cruel about her charm #annakarenina #latenightreading

8 days ago.

kirby_mcc Why do they have British accents in "Anna Karenina?" I thought it was set in Russia

8 days ago.

mariachuchus it's a bit late but anna karenina was so good omg

8 days ago.

Anna Karenina (2012) Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Watch All Videos

Exclusive Features

Cast Interviews Exclusive Cast Interview Keira Knightley talks about her "tricky" character, Jude Law on his passive-aggressive role and Joe Wright on filming the movie on a stage. More Films on Fandango's Award Watch A sneak peek at Hollywood's race to the Oscars!