Movie Review: Anna Karenina (2012)

Unlike the novel I definitely had expectations about the 2012 film version of Anna Karenina. Those expectations were met and exceeded in my opinion by the writer, cinematographer, and actors. I was aware beforehand of the writer of this film Tom Stoppard because I read his very funny play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and I think he did a fantastic job cutting Anna Karenina into a film adaptation. The most impressive part of the film was the scene transitions the first third of the movie. I assume they cut out the transitions for the rest of the film due to the time constraints, but when it was on screen it was something. Also impressive was the set where they filmed the movie, which was a theatre stage. It’s hard to explain the transitions and the stage, but trust me when I say that it’s unique in a good way. I’ll break down the actors and the important characters individually.

Keira Knightley’s portrayal and look of Anna Karenina was exactly how I pictured the character. I probably cheated a little before I read the book because I knew she was playing her, but Keira added a certain depth I never pictured before. Keira’s Anna was a lot funnier than I imagined in the book. She has perfected this period character that is soaked in the divine comedy. The character of Anna is very overdramatic, but I like how Keira toned it down to a more realistic version of Anna. I’d give Keira and the writer Stoppard an A+ for matching and exceeding my expectations for Anna.

Jude Law played the sour victim Karenin, which I’m still murky about. The character is very bland and lacks passion so it’s hard to say that Jude Law played the character great when the character is dry to begin. With that said Jude Law matched the book character perfectly so I’ll give him an A, but not an A+ because he didn’t add anything new to the character.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson played the character Vronsky, which I think would be the hardest character to portray. I was shocked when I found out after the movie that Aaron was the same guy in the movie Kick-Ass. Aaron in Kick-Ass looked nothing like Vronsky so I’ll give the make-up people in Kick-Ass a lot of credit or the make-up people in Anna Karenina credit for the transformation. Aaron did give Vronsky some personality that I thought lacked in the book, but Aaron’s look was a lot more boyish than I had pictured. In the book I was a little confused about how Vronsky moved on from Kitty to Anna so fast, but Aaron’s portrayal answered that question for me perfectly without words. I wouldn’t say Aaron met my expectations, but he gave me a different scope to see the character of Vronsky. In the end, I have no complaints on his portrayal of a hard character so I’ll give him an A+ for giving a solid performance.

Anna Karenina

Kick-Ass

The character of Levin I thought would be the easiest to portray because he suffers with a lot of internal conflict and he doesn’t really show his emotions. I’m sorry to say that I was sort of disappointed in Domhnall Gleeson’s portrayal of Levin. Domhnall’s Levin was so wimpy compared to what I had pictured in my head. I know Levin had some sort of social anxiety, but Levin is stubborn and Domhnall was portraying a man who wears his emotions on his sleeves. I think Domhnall was just a victim of the cuts in the screenplay because Levin’s storyline was not filled with as much tension and drama than Anna’s. I would have to give Domhnall’s portrayal a solid C because I don’t think justice was given to Levin’s character.

Gleeson

My favorite character in the book was Stepan (Oblonsky/Stiva) and I’ll gladly give actor Matthew Macfadyen and A+ for just filling in the blanks to an already easy/funny character.

Macfadyen

Kitty (Alicia Vikander) and Dolly (Kelly MacDonald) were portrayed fairly to the point where I can’t really think of anything to complain about. In the film both characters really weren’t featured enough to give the actors much room to practice their craft. All other characters really weren’t featured enough to give me something to write about.

I will admit that I’m not a really creative person; therefore the action in my mind while reading the book was very tedious. The first half of this film was pure brilliance because it brought life to the story and it was hitting every important plot point. Obviously the director couldn’t put in every scene in the book into the movie, but they gambled and kept the film true to the book for the first half. I’m not going to break down the plot, but just comment on what I thought was important. They cut out some long parts of the book that I was okay with like Kitty in Germany, Anna/Vronsky in Italy, and Anna/Vronsky living on the country estate. There were some parts they included in the movie that I think they could have shot better. For example, I thought Kitty caring after Levin’s brother was a big scene in the development of the character in the book, but in the film it was shot like a montage. That upset me a little bit because it wasn’t giving Kitty the credit I thought she deserved.

Kitty

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I did not remember any reusable condoms in the book version. In the film, Karenin pulling out a reusable condom before bed symbolized his lack of passion when juxtaposed to Vronsky who has passionate sex with Anna in the movie. I thought that was pretty funny because when he pulled it out for the first time in the movie I was like “what the hell is that? It can’t be a condom because it looks like its jewel incrusted.”

Of course in the movie version Anna meets the same fate, but Anna is portrayed more positively in the film version. I don’t know if this was because they cut out the scenes that portray Anna negatively or if this was deliberate. In the book, Anna’s treatment of Dolly at the estate, her lack of mothering with the daughter, and her views on Levin gave Anna some antagonist traits. This could also be because those scenes were in the second half of the book and the film didn’t invest heavily in the second half.

When the horseracing scene was coming up I was very confused to how they were going to pull it off because as I said earlier they shot the scene in a theater. Surprisingly the scene was great and they pulled it off. In the book the horse race was long distance and the stage is obviously too short, so the dark backstage was set as the part of the race the audience couldn’t see. The tension in the book was going to be hard to match, but they matched it.

After Anna’s demise the film wrapped up pretty quickly just like the book. We didn’t see Vronsky going to war, but we did see a little of Levin. It seems that the ending scenes of Levin were just leftover cuts, because unless you read the book the scenes were out of context. I believe they should have ended the film after Anna’s demise instead of limping to the finish line with Levin’s ending. I think it would have given the audience a shock to the system. Instead we were left with Karenin caring after Anna’s children in a meadow.

My overall review of the film is positive one because the beginning makes up for the weak finish of the movie. I hope in the extended DVD version they have those awesome scene transitions throughout, because it made a huge difference in me liking the film. If I were giving advise, I would say to watch the movie first then read the book to help fill in the gaps. Although if one does do that be prepared to read a lot and have patience. GRADE: 8.5/10

I'm officially done with the Anna Karenina franchise. Look for my book summary and book review if you want to read more.

Book Review: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Finally done with it. It's wordy, but only because it was a long book so I do not expect other reviews to be this long.

Tolstoy caught me off guard immediately because there was no sign of the character the book was named after. I was starting to believe Anna was going to be a small character and Stepan was the true main character, because Anna didn’t show up until chapter 8. My first impression of Levin was of a man that was very insecure and socially awkward, yet he had enough confidence to ask Kitty for a marriage. After her denial one could see Levin’s self-esteem crash and he suffered with it for about half the novel. Vronsky didn’t make a strong impression at the beginning inferring that when he was with Kitty he was just of shell of his true self. The ball in Moscow was one of the most important scenes in the book where Vronsky was flirting with Anna and as a strait male I thought Vronsky did quite a good job playing the pick-up game with Anna. Kitty saw immediately that Vronsky had eyes for Anna and was very hurt because she saw too that Anna was beautiful. I think Anna played around with Vronsky at the expense of Kitty in order to have a little drama in her life. Although when Vronsky showed up on the train on the way back to St. Petersburg she realized that this was no longer a game. I’m going to give Stepan and Dolly’s relationship some analysis as well because I think Stepan is a funny character. Early on Dolly is pretty weak in her convictions and I honestly believe that Dolly was just milking attention at the beginning of the novel in order to be relevant. I will say that Dolly does make a comeback later in the novel and transforms into a character that is extremely likeable.

Before we go to St. Petersburg to see how Anna and Vronsky are doing we are taken to Levin’s farm. Levin is quite a farmer and very passionate about it. But I did think he was sort of dry in this part of the book. You would think Levin would be quite humble because of his dislike for the city, but he has strong opinions about peasants to put it lightly. I would probably have to read this section again in order to get a sense of Levin’s theories of agriculture, because it was hard to pay attention with St. Petersburg coming up. Kitty tries to change her personality in Germany so she may gain certain clarity to her life. I have to say that she comes off kind of phony and displays her immaturity in dealings with a local family she almost breaks up, but it’s in Germany where she learns how fragile and complicated adult relationships really are.

While Vronsky courts Anna in St. Petersburg we get a better sense of how Karenin thinks. He is a man with little personality and passion, which is the exact opposite of Anna. You could feel the tension in the room when Anna was talking to Vronsky and Karenin entered the party. Tolstoy does a great job setting up the context in which you can hear the whispers of people talking about this inappropriate relationship. The short chapter in which Anna and Vronsky have sex was sort of weird. I read the chapter and was very confused about what just happened because there was crying and the exaggerated dialogue of Anna moaning the word “murderer.” I thought they had just broken off their relationship, but I looked online at a chapter review and it said that they just had relations. I read the chapter again with this in mind and I could see it, but I thought it was more comical than emotional. My favorite scene in the book was the horse race because it was just filled with tension and I could see the plot potentially pulled in many different directions. During the race the reader was as nervous for Vronsky as Anna was, so when Vronsky fell you could understand why Anna wept. The revelation of the affair to Karenin had to be done after the race because it was becoming ridiculous how clue less Karenin was acting. The reveal was odd because Karenin scolding Anna for weeping in front of everyone and Anna seemed frustrated at the lack of passion in Karenin’s voice.  I’m sure Anna would have respected Karenin more if he just said what was on his mind instead of holding it in and talking like a constitutional lawyer. Although Karenin was the one being cheated on he played up his role as the victim way too hard and set himself up for embarrassment.

The reconciliation of Kitty and Levin was not as tense as St. Petersburg, but you felt like the stakes were higher than with Anna and Vronsky. One could guess that Vronsky and Anna would not last, but you really wanted Levin to shut-up about farming and just settle down with Kitty. The ridiculous way that they got together was so symbolic that one could tell that Tolstoy was commenting that their relationship was magical and impossible for anyone else.

Back in St. Petersburg we first encounter supernatural themes when Anna and Vronsky have dreams that foreshadow Anna dying in childbirth. This caught me a little off guard because Tolstoy stood pretty consistent about letting anything seem too mysterious. There is probably something to fact that dreams and miracles only happen in Anna’s storyline rather than Levin’s. One positive trait that Anna tested Vronsky with was the news of the pregnancy. I always read the Vronsky character as having maturity, but Anna couldn’t see that until this news. Reading the chapters with Anna on her deathbed was sort of an enigma. They were very emotional powerful chapters, but then almost immediately Anna was recovering causing a lot of confusion within the culture of the novel. I’m sure Tolstoy did this to keep the reader on their toes in order to infer that any character may die or survive at any moment. Vronsky’s attempted suicide kind of came out of nowhere because he was in the middle of an inner dialogue. I’m not going to dig too deep into the reasons of the suicide, but assume that Vronsky was emotionally damaged from Anna dying. I think that Vronsky didn’t want to kill himself, but he wanted to feel pain as Anna was feeling.

Tolstoy tested my patience and nerves with the wedding of Kitty and Levin. Tolstoy knew that the wedding couldn’t go on without drama so he threw in some wedding day uncertainty. When Anna and Vronsky were in Italy I kind of hated their fakeness that they played up with art. This was the equivalent of Kitty’s little trip to Germany where the characters try to “find themselves,” but they are really just running away from their problems.

Tolstoy sort of played up Kitty as the spoiled youngest daughter, but her character had her best moment in my opinion when she cared for Levin’s dying brother Nikolai. I don’t think she cared for Nikolai because she liked him, but because she saw how Levin was afraid of death.

I thought that maybe Anna’s negative flaw in Italy was a one-time thing when she had the very emotional reunion with her son. It was a very bittersweet moment because you could feel the connection she has with her son, but you know that it would be short-lived. Meeting her son gave her a blind confidence to go back into her former social life led by her nourishing quality of naïveté. Anna first displays her irrational behavior after the embarrassment of the play where she tries to blame Vronsky for not stopping her from going. This becomes common practice with her as she realizes that her social mobility becomes stagnant.

Tolstoy gives a not so coy test to Levin and Vronsky in the character of Veslovsky who is a young philanderer. Levin fails miserably showing a flaw in his otherwise solid character, because he becomes irrationally jealous of Veslovsky. Kitty doesn’t get mad at Levin, but tries to help support and comfort him with his problem. On the other side of the coin Vronsky displays that he is not the jealous type. His self-confidence is at its height and he just wants to settle down with Anna who is grasping at any drama she can drum up in order to seem relevant.

Anna’s most disappointing moment in my view was when Dolly came to visit the country estate. Anna behaved like a snob in front of Dolly who was obviously uncomfortable. This was quite an evolution of Anna who was very supportive of Dolly earlier in the novel. This was also the point when we realize that Anna is not a good mother to her daughter. This is probably because she blames the new child for ruining/stealing the affection of her son. There was also the chapter in which Anna met Levin and she took pride in knowing that she could have corrupted Levin. I’m not sure what Tolstoy was trying to show us in this scene, but to portray that Anna was temptress.

It was at this point in the novel where I was getting sort of impatient because it seemed that this book was never going to end. This feeling was heightened because Tolstoy takes the reader out to the countryside to the elections. Levin and Vronsky are again compared to each other in regard to their social and political prowess. It would seem that Levin again failed this test while Vronsky thrived in that capacity. Levin is really just a simple man who wants to live away from the political world that everyone seems so caught up in. On the same subject Vronsky understands how to play the social game and use his skills to thrive in this world.

Karenin’s religious crusade against Anna is aided by the fact that Countess Lydia is pulling his strings. Which seems very odd to me because it seemed he resented Anna’s independence, yet he is now fine having another woman tell him what to do. I also don’t understand the obviously allegorical character in the clairvoyant French boy who advises Karenin. It was a weird scene to read when Stepan was in the room and this Frenchman just doses off. I’m severely lost as to the significance/virtue of this character.

The fall of Anna was a little hard to follow because at this point I was reading really fast in order to reach the conclusion. Anna felt that Vronsky was the only person she had so when Vronsky was associating with another woman, Anna just collapsed emotionally. When she did ultimately kill herself I was actually kind of relieved because she was bringing Vronsky down with her. The coming suicide was evident for this once charming woman that fought the standards in her world, but she was not strong enough to resist the esteem that came with these standards. Whether or not Vronsky was actually having an affair was meek because Anna became selfish and betrayed the characteristics that made me respect her. After her death the novel was pretty much over.

Tolstoy added salt in the wound of readers who were sad over Anna’s death when we found out what happened to Vronsky. I was hoping that Vronsky would move on with his life, but when Anna died so died his soul. I don’t know what else Vronsky could have done to help Anna, but literally hold her hand the entire last third of the book. Tolstoy also left us with a little humanity when he gave Lenin a boring, yet pleasant ending.

My favorite theme in the novel was the change of circumstance. While Kitty and Levin were miserable, Anna and Vronsky were happy, but in the end Kitty and Levin were the ones at peace. Passion does not equal happiness. It’s only an investment to be paid out with agony.

I read this book with no expectations of what I was getting. I was pleasantly surprised how sometimes Tolstoy threw in a curveball and got me to quickly flip every page. This was my first book I read of Tolstoy, but do I have the patience to read War and Peace? I will only say maybe and that’s only because he writes quick resolutions installed in very short chapters for the most part.

I will have a review of the 2012 film Anna Karenina coming up soon.

Favorite and Least Favorite in Anna Karenina

I'm almost done with the review, but until then here is a small write-up about my favorite and least favorite character.

Favorite Character

My favorite character was actually Stepan (aka Stiva or Oblonsky).  Although he always cheats on his wife he just loves life.  While everyone else is struggling with his or her own neurosis he just wants to eat, drink, and talk.  In any conversations the other person is always nervous talking with Stepan.  Karenin for example seems generally afraid of Stepan because Stepan will convince him to come out of his shell.  I can honestly see how Anna and Stepan are related.  They are very chatty people who know how to play the game of Russian Socialite, although it’s at the expense of their partners.  After Anna dies one can be sure that Anna’s passionate personality will live on in Stepan.

Least Favorite Character

I would have to say its Countess Lidia Ivanovna.  She is some religious nut that Karenin respects and after Anna leaves Karenin she acts like a vulture and picks up the pieces of Karenin’s dead personality.  She basically turns into Karenin’s harsh rule enforcer.  All we really know about her is that her husband left and she has no kids.  She is basically living vacuously through Karenin, but why?  There was no sexual desire between the two, but they were tied hand in hand in the second half of the book.  The Countess also brought in that weird French character that has visions and those visions told Karenin not to get a divorce.

Summary of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Summary of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

This is the simple blog friendly summary of the novel, but if you prefer the longer more comprehensive summary I wrote there is a google docs link at the bottom of the page. I actually do prefer the longer summary because it is more entertaining like reading a short story.

The simplest way to summarize the plot is to break it up into two separate story lines involving the main characters of Anna Karenina and Levin. Although both story lines constantly interact with each they don’t affect each other’s plot for the most part. The novel begins with a love triangle between Anna, Kitty, and Vronsky before the stories diverge. Anna is a St. Petersburg socialite that’s admired by almost everyone, but her main admirer is a young up and coming Calvary man named Vronsky. Anna is married, but that doesn’t stop the endless chapters of flirtations and affairs behind her husband’s back.

Kitty was kicked to the curb by Vronsky and is distraught because she rejected her other suitor in Levin. Coping with this rejection, Levin takes up a heavy interest in his farming. After a year of avoidance Kitty and Levin nervously reconcile and marry. This will end up being the foil relationship to Anna and Vronsky, because while Anna’s love started out strong it begins to wither.

After tension filled chapters Anna finally confesses her relationship to her husband named Karenin. Karenin was upset, but doesn’t want the embarrassment of a divorce and stays married. Vronsky and Anna continue their relationship, but Anna soon is on her deathbed after giving birth to Vronsky’s child. Karenin forgives Anna and Vronsky, but soon after Anna cheats death she and Vronsky leave St. Petersburg. Happiness soon turns gloomy after Anna becomes unhappy in her social situation and her divorce situation with Karenin who wont grant a one. Suffering from constant jealousy and an addiction to morphine Anna tragically commits suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Kitty and Levin suffer no major problems after they get married and live happily ever after on Levin’s farm. There were important tests in the relationship that worked out for the better as the couple welcomed a baby towards the end of the book.

Full Summary of Anna Karenina

My review of the novel is soon to follow.....

Get to know me! Q 4,5,6

Last Random Questions Post before 1st official post

Q4: What DVD in your collection are you most embarrassed about owning?

A4: Crank for sure. I was in high school and I never saw the movie and my friend told me it was good. I picked it up at Costco as an impulse buy and hated it. I thought it was so stupid and over the top, but now years later it still sits in my closet.

Q5: Whats the most played song on your itunes library?

A5: Dont Panic by Coldplay. It's not my favorite song, but its short and catchy so I almost never skip it while on shuffle mode.

Q6: What was your least favorite subject in school?

A6: Definitely math because I have a short attention span when it comes to numbers. I'm not that much better when it comes to Chemistry, but Biology I can understand.

Get to know me! Q 1,2,3

Before I start my blog with a review of a long novel its best that you get the know me and my writing style while I set up the logistics of this blog.  Here are some random questions I'm answering:

Q1: Did your parents give you a car at the age of 16?

A1: Nope. I got my learners permit at age late 16 or early 17 and then 6 mo. later I got my license. I honestly had no where to go nor was I eager to be anywhere. My family was moving to another state so when we moved my dad bought a new car so I just used his old one still to this day.

Q2: Do you use a bath robe?

A2: No. I live in California so there really is no need for one temp wise. Some guys will use a robe when they get out of the shower then shave, but I shave before I shower. I get dressed pretty quickly so there is no need for one anyway.

Q3: Do you have a tattoo?

A3: I wish I could answer yes to one of these random questions I'm finding online, but no. Both my younger siblings have them and in order to be different I'm not getting one. I just know I'll regret a tattoo after a couple of weeks.

Mindblowing stuff right?