Anna Karenina (2012) - 6 stars out of 10

Anna Karenina (2012) - 6 stars out of 10
Oscar Week

All the world’s a stage, especially in Joe Wright’s interpretation of “Anna Karenina.”  This visual masterpiece places Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel onto a cinematic stage, complete with scene changes and a horse race as it would be seen onstage in a theater.  The Oscar nominations are pretty indicative of what you can expect when you see this film - the acting is average, the script can be a bit confusing at times and isn’t incredibly well written, but the sets and costumes are stunning and the interpretation of the story is very creative.  The ballroom scene where the couple dances across a room full of dancers frozen in time is one of those scenes where you’ll have to rewind it and watch it three times.  This certainly is not Wright’s best venture, but how can it be with films like “Atonement,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and “The Soloist” on his resume?  One of the best aspects of this film is Dario Marianelli’s score which captures the Russian atmosphere and interacts with the action on screen.  Even though I was emotionally detached from the characters because the film was so hard to follow, some of the heart wrenching melodic passages drew me back in.  Keira Knightley has a nice performance but the rest of the actors didn’t leave any sort of impression on me.  I certainly would not consider “Anna Karenina” to be a great film but it is worth seeing for its creative “on-stage” atmosphere and unique interpretation.