In Imperial Russia, Anna, the wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets the charming cavalry officer Vronsky to whom she is immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Alright, plot-wise, I might just have to throw in the towel on this one. It is about... people, married, unmarried, love and desire. A lot of characters running in and out of eachothers lives. Since this is based on a famous novel (I think), there must be a lot of summaries out there that can help you along much better than I could.
Quite frankly, I was... confused. The whole movie is sort of based at a theater (more or less), where the scenes change constantly. It can be quite spectacular, I must admit, but also... confusing. As a period piece, this movie has paid attention to the details, and everything looks soo good. I can definitely appreciate this, but it seems that all attention has been placed here, on the form.
The acting, and actors, fit well here... on the stage. They all act as if they were on a stage, which is fitting. In fact, to be honest, I would have much preferred to see this as a live performance on stage, than here. The story simply drowns in all these costumes and colours, fake trains and stages.
_Last words... a good story is more important than anything else. A good story doesn't have to be complicated (just take a look at a movie such as Locke, which is centered around many of the same themes as this). A good story was not important to these people, they just wanted to play around with fancy costumes, beautiful sets and actors who exaggerate. I would surely have skipped this one... had I known._
The stylistic use of the stage drifted between excessive and under-utilised, occasionally falling into perfect balance, of which the ballroom dance scene between Kitty, Vronsky and Anna Karenina is the prime example.
The film tells its story closer to the way a ballet’s is told.
