Anna Karenina

It didn't work out. Joe Wright has once again immersed himself in the waters of a period drama with perfect camera work, a captivating soundtrack from Darlo Marianelli, and the queen Keira Knightley, but this time he stumbled. There is none of the enchantment of Pride and Prejudice or the intimate fatalism of Atonement. Anna Karenina loses me due to its uninteresting supporting characters, at times disruptive theatrical form, and most importantly, the emotions that are lacking most of the time. I admired Vronsky or respected Minister Karenin, but all the loves and sufferings of the main triangle evoked less of a surrender from me and more of a cautious interest. And that is an inevitable disappointment when it comes to Wright adapting classic literature. (26/12/2012)

Fortunately, this is not a heavy-handed adaptation of a heavy-handed novel. Thanks to Joe Wright, Anna Karenina is a stunningly playful piece of work, which takes the most important things from the subject, never bores for a minute and, at least for the first half, makes the viewer watch all the visual inventiveness with a smile. The acting performances, led by Keira Knightley and Jude Law, are without a single flaw (Vronský has always struck me as very sleazy, so I actually welcomed the unsympathetic dummy), the costumes, the sets, the music... Everything's perfect. Lots of literally unforgettable scenes that I definitely want to see again. (12/01/2013)

Absolutely captivating, riveting and enchanting. I must admit that I didn’t expect much from Anna; I was afraid that I was in for rather a kitsch, historical bed-bath, but how wrong I was. I was shocked and surprised by the movie; it holds utterly unexpected things in store, served up to you with such noblesse and mystery. I take my hat off to the entire stage. The idea of making it all take place inside a grand theatre was just incredible. To start with, it bothered me a little, but after a short while I got right into it - you’ll love it. The theatricality was complemented by excellent acting performances. Keira Knightley makes a very convincing and venerable Anna Karenina and I fell in love with her at first sight. The plot was a bit bland and ordinary by today’s standards, but toward the end of the 19th century, when it was written, it caused an uproar. I’m slightly disappointed that the filmmakers didn’t make a little more of Anna’s death, but that’s how it happened in the novel (at the end) and it didn’t spoil the movie for me all in all. And the portrayal of how Russian High Society, the creme de la creme, simply destroyed Anna is marvelous. I am thrilled and full of emotions. (03/08/2014)

I have the feeling that after his fantastic debut Joe Wright is looking for something, trying new things, formally experimenting, but he just can’t find it. I experienced deep emotions in Pride and Prejudice and partly in Atonement, but I’ve missed them in his other films. I applaud his courage in treating Tolstoy's old-fashioned novel in the first half as a dynamic, rambunctious piece, situated for much of the runtime in a theatrical setting where sets change in rapid succession and actors present themselves with stylized movements (and it's a joy to watch). But the emotions that shook me so powerfully with the Soviet adaptation of Zarchy are simply not here, they don't surface enough and there are no tears in my eyes. I don't know if this is due to the fact that Zarchy approached Tolstoy's novel with a great deal of respect, perhaps more than that shown by Wright, or if the main stumbling block is that Aaron Taylor-Johnson lacks the manly charisma that makes women's knees buckle. Take away the subtle moustache and you immediately expect Vronsky to hop on a skateboard with his high school classmates and Anna Karenina to be in big trouble with the vice police for seducing an underage youth. The tragic ending itself touched me only very, very slightly and that shouldn't happen in an adaptation of such a fundamental novel. Still, gritting my teeth, I give it a merciful 4*, just for the courage Wright showed, because I’m always in favour of creative experiments. (05/02/2013)

Joe Wright experiments instead of sticking to the concept of a subtle and rhythmic whirlwind of emotions like in Atonement. This theatrical attempt of his doesn't have the right grace, and thanks to the varying pace and the overall bland tuning of the film, it's boring in the finale, even with Keira Knightley giving a great performance – if it weren't for her, it would be mediocre. The fateful novel could have been used "the old-fashioned way" about 100 times better. (27/12/2015)