On a different note, quick review of Anna Karenina which I saw last night. It's a rental if that. Personally, I like period peice dramas / adaptations of famous works like Dickens and Austin. The Pride and Prejudice film starring Keira Knightley a few years ago is one of my top favorite films from the last decade. Not really knowing the story of Anna Karenina either I was intrigued to see it.
Never have I wanted to walk out of a film more in the first 20 minutes than this movie. I was ready to just give up on the 8.00 bucks I spent and do something far better than watch this movie. The reason is for a completely horrible decision to start the movie as if all the characters inhabit a theater and move around on stage. Characters walk down stage hallways on to a new stage and have a little scene. Backdrops get changed and moved and just keep the viewer very disoriented. This is even worse as the movie tries to introduce all the players but you are left bewildered at first as to who's with whom or what is real or where this is all going. I then began to wonder if maybe the director was trying to mimic Hitchcock's Rope by having what looks like a continuous unbroken shot yet finding a way to switch scenes by having people and backdrops move around in such manner but no, the movie still cuts to different scenes.
Fortunately, I'd say about 40 minutes in, the movie finally gives up this technique or at least uses it far, far more sparingly and we finally get a more traditional movie which helps improve the movie so much more. I was so glad and yet so frustrated when I think about how much better things could have been without this odd, bizarre choice.
If you can't figure out what I'm describing, I don't blame you. It's hard to explain without actually seeing it. So, in a way, it's worth checking out to see what it is all about but it drove me mad. I'm not the only one. After the movie was over, two dames sitting behind me started talking about the movie and seemingly agreeing with each other that they both liked it. One then commented to the other that they were worried at the start that this movie was going to be too artsy for them and was lost in the beginning and the other agreed and I agree.
Which is a shame because in the end, there are some good performances here and it is still a strong story although not one I find as emotionally moving as say Pride and Prejudice. I find I sympathize more with Jude Law's character than Anna herself. There's also a secondary love story running through the movie involving a character called Kitty and her rejected would-be-suitor which I also ended up finding more interesting in the end. Even wierder is the R rating this move gets which seem to come about because a man is killed by a train and you see some of his intestines after yet there is no other violence aside from say the ending since Anna kills herself and a horse gets shot. There is no full frontal nudity or anything. The language is very tame so I don't get that. Here in Canada, it has PG rating which makes perfect sense.
In the end and to wrap up this lengthy post, if you like this type of movie, it might be worth checking out one night if you feel like seeing something abit more experimental and a bit of a downer. Unfortunately, this movie shoots itself in the foot in the beginning and works hard to lose the audience that a solid second half cannot overcome that opening hurdle. Also, I really did like the ballroom dancing with all the arm movements.
2.5 stars out of 5.
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