One of William Shakespeare’s most famous poems states ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’ However, I don’t think that Anna Karenina is exactly what he meant. Despite never having read the book, I found the story to be adapted well, but in a very confusing manner.

Anna Karenina, (Keira Knightley) is a beautiful and wealthy lass who is married to politician Karenin. (Jude Law) When Anna comes to Moscow to visit her brother, (Matthew Macfadyen) she comes across a charming officer named Vronsky. (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) After a few chance encounters, the two fall for each other. But Anna realizes that she cannot divorce her husband without attracting attention from her peers. And so begins the tragic love story that has captured many generations.

You know the phrase ‘good story, well told’? This is an example of ‘good story, not so well told.” The film opens with the stage opening the curtain and the film makes several nods to the notion that everything that is happening in the movie is all set on a stage. It’s nice that this movie is trying something different, but different does not always work. Watching the movie, you wish that the filmmakers had either gone a more conventional route, or had made it a simple stage show.

If there’s one thing that you can say about this movie, it’s that this movie LOOKS amazing. The outstanding production design and costume design work well in inserting you into their world, and the cinematography and score deserve praise for making the film feel as delicate as our protagonist.

Speaking of Anna, Keira Knightley did a horribly underrated job as Anna, making every moment deliver so much weight. The final scene in particular is what acting dreams are made of. Law and Taylor Johnson do very good jobs in their roles, making it difficult for the audience to decide who Anna should try to be with. Before Team Edward and Team Jacob, there was Team Karenin and Team Vronsky. And here’s a fun fact: Kelly Macdonald (AKA Merida From Brave) is in this movie.

This is one of those movies that will be viewed differently by everybody. I found it to be good, and I’ll most likely be watching it again. You can come to your own conclusion based on this review. Well, that was a mouthful. I better be getting back o my regular schedule of studying, sleeping, eating, and watching movies… Man, I need a girlfriend.

****