There is a certain formalism and attentiveness to realism that makes the Dostoyevkys and the Tolstoys of this world rather difficult to read. One gets the sense that the worlds in which their characters and stories inhabit are made real by their keen eye for social and political situations. Even more, one gets the sense that the world in which the novel inhabits exists outside of the narrative, of its own volition, going about its business. All of this makes adaptations of their much-praised novels difficult: too much focus on recreating historical detail and it can appear a cutesy period drama, too little, and the story no longer stands on its merits.

Importantly, for Joe Wright’s ANNA KARENINA, none of these pitfalls make themselves seen or heard. A magic realism pervades the whole film. The sets of scene locations are made and unmade before the viewer’s eyes, while the camera drifts calmly between them. A soundtrack piece might appear as though it were off-screen, until the musicians playing it meander into a shot and through the heart of the action. Many scenes are played out on a stage with a painted backdrop, while the props and action protrude off the stage and into an empty, seemingly infinite playhouse, like naturalist theatre gone obscenely too far. St. Petersburg is empty, and all its denizens are here. With this too, getting it wrong can be disastrous, but Stoppard’s screenplay shines through (the theatre motif plays to his strengths) and Wright’s direction is spot-on, never overdoing it.

…getting it wrong can be disastrous, but Stoppard’s screenplay shines through and Wright’s direction is spot-on, never overdoing it.

While this might sound like just bringing a new-fangled cinematic twist to a grand old story there is something in the style of Wright’s directing that calls to mind how they don’t make ’em like they used to anymore. His style recalls the great era of David Lean. You will see hints of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and BRIEF ENCOUNTER slipped in quietly, by an angle here or a look there. Unlike Lean however, Wright does put a modern cinematic element in – the sex scene in the period drama. This is fine in itself, but he made the cardinal mistake I’d rather hoped he wouldn’t: juicy dialogue during the sex scene in the period drama. You’ll really notice it.

For the acting, there is much to be said. Jude Law performances can be hit-and-miss, but this one hits. Though the film may not be a slow-burner, he certainly is, with a big pay-off when his character flourishes. Aaron Taylor-Johnson goes beyond the I’m-a-posh-man-with-feelings trope that his character could so easily have been reduced to, and, though he has nuance and tact, nothing quite matches the subtlety of Knightley here. The briefest spark beginning a whole infatuation can be detected in her face; she delivers lines with perfect timing. All this, and her big set piece scenes are carried through by awesome cinematography.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPGLRO3fZnQ