Anna Karenina (2000)
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Actor: Amanda Root, Douglas Henshall, Helen McCrory, Kevin McKidd, Mark Strong (II)Brand: Wgbh Wholesale
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: DVD, Miniseries, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 240 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-09
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: PBS
DVD Reviews of Anna Karenina (2000)
DVD Review: Disappointing Pop Culture version, not much Tolstoy here (details)
Summary: 3 Stars
I'll say up front that if you want to see a fine production of Anna Karenina, then acquire the following older BBC mini-series version:
Anna Karenina (1977) - The Complete Miniseries
As for the mini-series film under review here, there appears to be a notable dose of modernistic thinking injected into the magnificent original story and it's almost as if the producers said to the director and cast, "Tell the story but no Tolstoy please!" In other words, focus on the sexual innuendos and keep the pacing wholly consistent throughout. As I watched I actually pondered whether the director had actually read the book which is not so much a story of love as it is a saga of life. The historical Russian context and the appurtenant detritus of the various scenes and sets have been largely obliterated.
When one sits through a spot-on film production of Anna Karenina [there are multiple versions], the typical viewer is emotionally inspired to alternate between hugging and strangling Anna -- in this instance only the latter comes to mind. Our traditional paradigms of most of the characters have been un-artfully manipulated. While the screenwriters knew better than to actually tamper with Tolstoy's core story they still rejected the essential spirit of his magnificent novel. Had they somehow *improved* it, one could say okay -- but they didn't fulfill this near-impossible task in any sense.
The central tale involves Anna Karenina [the Russian female extrapolation of the surname *Karenin*], the high-profile wife of a significantly-ranked St. Petersburg government official [Karenin], and their young son. Anna travels by train south to Moscow to pay a casual visit to her brother, Steva, who has (unknown to Anna at the time) just been caught in a lustful affair with the family governess and whose much angered wife is now ready to leave him. Anna manages to quickly smooth it all over subsequent to her arrival in Moscow but it's there that she encounters, and is quite taken with, a dashing young military officer, Vronsky, the latter being practically affianced to Steva's young and naive sister-in-law. The sister-in-law gets dumped (she's devastated) and Anna cannot bring herself to send the handsome and amorous Vronsky on his way -- quite the opposite. Karenin is soon apprised of the disgraceful relationship between his wife and Vronsky and the affair soon blossoms into the most talked-about scandal in St. Petersburg.
There are a couple of sub-plots as well (although not nearly as many as there are in the original novel.) Steva continues to stumble along as the amiable man-about-town and his good friend from country, Levin, falls in love with the (soon to be rejected) sister-in-law but his offer is inopportunely declined when he proposes to her. Of course, once she is rejected by Vronsky and publicly humiliated by Anna's ostentatious behavior with her newfound paramour at a dance-soiree, Levin doesn't look so bad to her in retrospect... but that opportunity appears to be lost for good. Levin also has a tubercular, drunken brother whose political views and failing health become quite a personal burden for him.
I've revealed no spoilers here - all this melodrama simply establishes the lengthy and intricate story which follows. But a central focus of the original story, and a very integral one, has been totally cast aside: the fact that Anna is a morphine addict which is much of what drives her often irrational behavior. I suppose that the film-makers opted, with an eye to appearing somewhat more trendy, to allow viewers to believe that she is simply bi-polar.
The cinematography of this film is pretty much first class -- it's all film and not videotape, which is the singular shortcoming of the other mini-series I previously mentioned. However, the filmscore of original music is, in the context of this yarn, horrific. There's nothing Russian about it and this soundtrack could have been more logically applied to any episode of The Sopranos: The Complete First Season.
The casting was largely very off-center, the character of Steva being the single major exception. This brings me to the strangest facet of the film: I anticipated that, this being a *Masterpiece Theater* entry, all the characters would have British accents instead of Russian ones and I'm wholly okay with that caveat; however, these actors spoke with multiple, mixed accents - British, Irish, and American! I've never encountered that strange nuance before in a period story which is supposed to take place entirely in a specific country. And with the exception of Steva, these folks didn't come off as Russian in any other sense, accents aside.
Kevin McKidd [Vronsky] isn't nearly as smooth or as flamboyant as he should be and he presents the appearance of the stereotyped Irishman. The actor playing Levin comes off as Irish as well but in his case, appropriate make-up could have easily overcome this incongruity. Levin, a man of agriculture, had all exceptionally well-groomed, impeccably sanitary-looking serfs and muzhiks, all beautiful people. As an aside, Levin's agricultural aspect was played down entirely which was an incredibly important aspect of period Russian culture (and of the original story too.)
Stephen Dillane's character [Karenin] was far too amiable, not nearly as Dickensian as he should have been presented -- he was also cast entirely too young as *old* Karenin was supposed to have a young wife [Anna], thereby contrasting their age differences. We're supposed to generally despise Karenin [except at one particular point in the story] but at times he even appears to suggest a warm and sympathetic personality, a fact which substantially diminishes the overall drama. Helen McCrory [Anna] represented the pinnacle of casting missteps. She's simply not as remarkably stunning as Anna has to be in order to drive the story effectively. Attractive yes, but she's nothing exceptional here and this is a genuine shame because a shrewd make-up session could have entirely gratified the essential expectations of Tolstoy fans.
I can hardly blame the cast for the bulk of these bungles as the problems chiefly center upon feeble casting and failed script-writing. The unremarkable sets and locations simply add to the burden of both the actors and the cinematographer(s).
And I suppose that the culmination of these multiple issues is what will separate the various evaluators of this contemporary two-part mini-series. The numerous Tolstoy fans will generally be let down while most others, especially those who have yet to experience the great joy of reading the original work, will likely say it's an okay film -- and it *is* an okay film in a generic, unspectacular sort of way. If you prefer to experience the Hollywood-type commercialized touch in film-making, punctuated with an emphasis on fairly mild carnal interludes, then you might well enjoy this movie quite a lot. I just thought that the producers, screenwriters, and the director failed utterly to make hay with all the more latent opportunities with which Tolstoy had armed them.
Don't get me wrong about this mini-series. I wholly understand and agree with the concept that one cannot make a film straight from a novel -- it simply doesn't work. But if you wish to see a poster example of a sterling screenplay extracted from a renowned classic Russian novel then watch Doctor Zhivago (45th Anniversary Edition) and you'll see how a screenwriter, a composer, a director, and his slate of actors can collaborate effectively to generate a masterpiece. For me, this version of *Anna Karenina* was clearly worth watching on a one-time basis but, even though I now own the DVD, I do not anticipate giving it a second viewing anytime soon.
Description of Anna Karenina (2000)
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. This famous line commences a refreshingly modern interpretation of Leo Tolstoy?s Anna Karenina-?an epic tale of love, duty, marriage and infidelity. This richly detailed film charts the tragic romantic triangle formed when the dashing Count Vronsky defies social conventions and falls into forbidden love with Anna, the ignored wife of an aristocrat. Soon, Anna?s children?a son by Alexei and illegitimate daughter by Vronsky?become pawns in Alexei?s game to see that Anna pays a terrible price for her indiscretion. With its gripping narrative and unbridled romance, Anna Karenina reveals the uncontrollable passion, emotional betrayal and courage of a woman who violates moral strictures and risks everything to follow her heart. Helen McCrory stars as Anna, along with Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting) as Count Vronsky, the handsome object of her desires; and Tony Award-winner Stephen Dillane (The Real Thing) as Alexei Karenin, Anna?s callously principled husband.Bestsellers in DVD
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