I love Joe Wright's work. Outside of The Soloist he's delivered three amazing films in Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Hanna, but I'm sorry, Anna Karenina is an example of directorial masturbation at its most damaging. This film comes across as a self-indulgent "art" picture lacking heart, soul and any semblance of emotion. It, and it's characters, are empty vessels I'd prefer I never spend time with ever again.
Oh, there's Keira Knightley, looking radiant as she dresses in her evening's best. That's Jude Law and is his hair thinning on top? There's Aaron Johnson and boy does he look dapper, but what's with the mustache? And look, Matthew Macfadyen is cornering the market on becoming the next Jim Broadbent.
I should add a note right here, Macfadyen is one of Anna Karenina's only highlights and the Broadbent comparison is meant as a positive. Macfadyen is a joy to watch on the big screen just as much as is the star of Topsy-Turvy.
All our stars are dressed to the nines and the set decoration is lovely, but that's where we reach our first major roadblock, and where Wright appears to want us to focus most of our attention. You see, Anna Karenina was predominantly shot all in one location, the front of the house, upstairs, down and backstage of a dilapidated theatre. Backdrops will glide into the rafters, the stage lights will provide a luscious amber glow and doors will fall from the ceiling only to be opened seconds later. It's wonderfully unique, but it is also wasted, tedious and perplexing at the same time.
READ MORE: http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/anna-karenina-2012-movie-review/
No comments:
Post a Comment