Love. Betrayal. Scandal. Devastation. No, I’m not talking about the Petraeus affair. It’s time to dust off your high school classics and delve into Anna Karenina…or for some of you, time to get acquainted. It’s not note-by-note faithful to the Tolstoy classic, but this film’s wonderful blend of traditional storytelling and avant garde filmmaking captures your attention and holds it fast. Not a bad trick for a movie that’s over two hours long.
Here’s the Cliff Notes version; lovely, spirited Anna is married to a dull bureaucrat. But her heart gets a kick-start when she meets the dashing young Count Vronsky. However, their love is forbidden, as she’s already hitched; Russian high society won’t stand for that sort of rule breaking. It’s all kindsa Russian Downton Abbey up in here — even Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery, as Princess Myagkaya) makes an appearance!
