Adapted from Leo Tolstoy's novel of the same name (1873-77), the film tells of the titular heroine, played by Keira Knightley, embark upon a passionate affair with the young Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), much to the obvious annoyance of Anna's conservative husband, the religious minister, Karenin (Jude Law). What this gives us is a very basic premise: bored wife, younger lover, embittered husband. However, Joe Wright chooses to tackle this in an extremely experimental and abstract way which ultimately ends in becoming the best feature of the entire film.
Wright chooses (perhaps becoming the inspiration for his current foray into London's West End) to set the story's events in the very specific world of the theatre. This is where the abstract nature of the film comes to the fore, scene changes taking place literally before the eyes of the viewer, characters being instantaneously transported from one setting to another. The film even goes as far as to have an actual horse race, with the theatre doubling for the race course!
This new and creative approach to telling the story comes across as a bit jarring at first, one not expecting such cinematic radicalism in what on the surface appears as a straight-laced period drama. Despite this, one eventually becomes accustomed to Wright's style and are able to bask in its visual splendour.
However, despite this novel and visually stimulating take on the story it eventually proves to be the film's undoing, ultimately producing a film that appears to be favouring style over substance. The film looks stunning, both in its production design and costume (Jacqueline Durran deserving picking up the Oscar for best Costume Design two weeks ago), yet as a result of this the story seems to be pushed into our periphery and leave us with a set of one-dimensional characters about whom we start to care very little.
As far as performances go, the film I believe belongs to Jude Law. Kudos should be given just to what he had to do to his hair! Receding hairline aside, he conveys the wronged husband with dexterity conviction, making me wish he was in the film more than he was. Aaron Taylor Johnson fares less well. Cast as the young officer who fastidiously pursues Anna into eventual submission, he only achieves coming across as a youthful pest that won't leave the woman alone. Couple with curiously being made-up to look like Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka, Taylor-Johnson ultimately fails to give us a convincing portrayal of Count Vronsky. Completing the tale's trio, how does Keira Knightley stand up against her counterparts? As ever she gives a convincing performance as the conflicted heroine but she doesn't set the screen ablaze. Perhaps due to the lack of character development throughout the film, we never feel sympathy for her as we should when all begins to go sour. It is a shame because this could have been one of her defining roles, yet sadly it fails to match her earlier collaborations with Wright in Pride and Prejudice and Atonement.
Outside the main trio of protagonists, it has to be noted there is wonderful performances for the supporting cast, specifically Matthew Macfadyen (sporting a wondrous walrus-like moustache!) as Anna's adulterous brother and Kelly Macdonald as his long-suffering wife. I was intrigued to discover that James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch all turned down roles in the film. I wonder if this review would be telling a different tale had they accepted!
Ultimately what we end up with is a film that is visually stunning yet lacking any real emotional depth, which is a shame. A story such as this could have been conveyed much greater and with Tom Stoppard's script and Joe Wright at the helm, I would have hoped to have been slightly more lifted when the credits rolled, rather than a little indifferent.
Anna Karenina is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.
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