In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
So can we somehow make a bargain with the film world: no more Anna Kareninas? You're making idiots of yourselves.
– David Thomson,
The New Republic,
14 Jun 2013
fresh:
It's a half-success -- a baldly conceptual response to the Leo Tolstoy novel, with a heavy theatrical framework placed around the narrative of girl meets boy, followed by girl meets train.
– Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Nov 2012
fresh:
In this adaptation, director Joe Wright, plus screenwriter Tom Stoppard, are determined to tame the untameable. And they do.
– Rick Groen,
Globe and Mail,
30 Nov 2012
rotten:
"Anna Karenina," lush as it is, fails to strike a fully human chord.
– Tom Long,
Detroit News,
30 Nov 2012
rotten:
The very picture of noble failure, it's a bright red heart without a beat.