Category Archives: Period Drama

1986 Films, British, Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

A Room with a View-1986

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A Room with a View-1986

Director James Ivory

Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands

Scott’s Review #695

Reviewed November 3, 2017

Grade: B+

A Room with a View (1985) is one of four major films based on famed British author E.M. Forster’s novels, with Howards End (1992), A Passage to India (1986), and Maurice (1987) as the others.

The four films share common elements, such as the vast English countryside and class distinctions, which lead to heartaches and passion.

In A Room with a View, the film moves from artistic Florence, Italy, to a cozy village in England.

The film is a period drama mixed with authentic, unforced good humor, and at its core a solid romantic drama; though, compared with the aforementioned films, it is not quite on par.

It is still an entertaining watch, given the dismal year of cinema circa 1986.

The film was considered one of the year’s best releases and received a handful of Oscar nominations, winning for Costume Design, Adapted Screenplay, and Art Direction.

Cultured and oftentimes brooding, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) goes on holiday to Florence with her rigid and conventional older cousin Charlotte (Maggie Smith), who also serves as her chaperone.

While enjoying the artistry of the European city, Lucy meets and falls madly in love with free-spirited George Emerson (Julian Sands), who is also visiting Florence with his easy-going father, Mr. Emerson (Denholm Elliott).

The men seem oblivious to Lucy’s (and Charlotte’s) Victorian-era upbringing, which attracts Lucy and appalls Charlotte.

Months later, the would-be lovers reunite in England and overcome obstacles that threaten their love, while admitting to themselves that it is blossoming.

As Lucy has become engaged to snobbish Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis), a sophisticate deemed suitable by her family to marry Lucy, the pair lacks the romantic connection that she shares with George.

Day-Lewis, on the cusp of becoming a breakout star and a brilliant talent, gives Cecil a somewhat comical yet endearing persona that makes him the main foil while also drawing sympathy. This is especially evident during the Lucy/Cecil break-up scene.

The standout performance in A Room with a View is Smith’s comic brilliance as the manipulative, witty Charlotte Bartlett, evident throughout.

Smith injects vigor and comic wit into her character, as Charlotte seems to make one blunder after another, using her self-deprecating manner to her advantage to humorously manipulate other characters into doing things her way.

A risqué and quite hysterical all-male frontal nudity scene occurs midway through the film and, while not advancing the plot in any way, steals the entire film in its homoerotic and free-spirited way.

As the Reverend, young George, and Lucy’s energetic brother, Freddy, walk along a beautiful path, they decide to skinny-dip in a pond, where they horseplay and wrestle completely in the buff.

As they chase each other around the pond, grab each other, and lightly smack bottoms, one cannot help but wonder if this scene set the tone for 1987’s gay-themed period piece based on another E.M. Forster novel, called Maurice.

A coincidence? I think not. As the trio of rascals comes upon the properly dressed girls on the path, hilarity ensues.

The art direction and costumes in A Room with a View are excellent; the film “looks” like a 1910 rather than 1986, with the actors donning early twentieth-century styles.

Every scene is a treat from this perspective, as we wonder who will wear what next.

As with the other aforementioned E.M. Forster films, class distinctions and expectations are central a A Room with a View and make Lucy and George all the more likable as a couple.

Still, overall, something feels slightly amiss in the story.

I did not find Helena Bonham Carter, an actor I like, very compelling as Lucy overall, and I think this makes the story slightly less than it might have been with another in the role.

We may root for Lucy and George, but if the pair do not wind up together, it is more of a pity rather than a travesty.

To summarize A Room with a View, the story is good, not great, and other key components of the film are much better than the central love story of Lucy and George, but they’re secondary to the main action.

Given a Charlotte romance, the film’s best character would have catapulted it to an exceptional grade. Imagine the possibilities.

Or more of the two, Miss Alan’s and their gossipy nature, or even a story of the rugged nude horseplay among men.

Many of the aspects that could have made A Room with a View (1986) great were too often on the sidelines.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-James Ivory, Best Supporting Actor-Denholm Elliott, Best Supporting Actress-Maggie Smith, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (won), Best Art Direction (won), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design (won)

Golden Globe Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture-Drama, Best Director-James Ivory, Best Supporting Actress-Maggie Smith (won)

2017 Films, Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

My Cousin Rachel-2017

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My Cousin Rachel-2017

Director Roger Michell

Starring Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin

Scott’s Review #685

Reviewed September 25, 2017

Grade: B-

My Cousin Rachel (2017) has the advantage of providing wonderful, scenic locales in Florence, Italy, and lovely scenes filmed around England, which make the film a joy to watch from a cinematic perspective.

The acting, especially by seasoned veteran Rachel Weisz,  is also stellar and noteworthy.

The plot, however, is a major weakness: My Cousin Rachel suffers from weak dramatic storytelling, an anticlimactic conclusion, and missed opportunities.

The film is based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1951 novel of the same name. I have yet to read the book, but I am certain the film does it no justice.

The film’s overall tone has little mystique, and it lacks the haunting elements one might expect with titillating anticipation.

The story begins well enough as, through narration, we learn that a young man named Philip, having been orphaned as a child and raised by his older cousin, Ambrose, returns home from school to his childhood home in lavish Cornwall.

Through a letter, he learns that Ambrose has married his widowed cousin, Rachel, and has moved to Florence. He also cryptically writes that he is in fear for his life and suspects Rachel of poisoning him.

The main plot begins after Philip finally meets Rachel and, astonishingly, falls madly in love with her.The film is beautifully shot and features interesting camera angles. In a few hallucination scenes, the filmmaker uses a blurry, almost magical filmmaking style.

The aforementioned locales give My Cousin Rachel a sophisticated, graceful look.

On the negative side, the lighting is too bright, feeling more like an episode of the PBS series Downton Abbey than the mysterious, cryptic film My Cousin Rachel is promoted as.

The film’s best element is Rachel Weisz’s outstanding performance as the title character, Rachel. While not quite as mysterious, Weisz envelops her character in a passionate, earnest quality that makes her enchanting.

With a winning smile and a polite, dutiful manner, Rachel is tough to imagine as a murderess, which helps the lackluster plot just a bit. She happily makes a “special” tea or performs other household tasks with cheerful, uniform pizzazz.

Without Weisz in the role, I shudder to think how bleak the result might have been.

Early in the story, Philip’s wealthy family, the Kendalls, are surprised that Ambrose married, as he was never known to be in, or enjoy, the company of women.

It also must be noted that in flashbacks, Ambrose is portrayed as somewhat effeminate or, at most, less than manly.

This seems a blatant attempt to question the character’s sexuality, yet the film chooses never to pursue this topic again. I know how the novel handled this plot item, but it seems like a wasted opportunity.

Chemistry, or lack thereof, is also an issue with My Cousin Rachel. No connection between Weisz and Claflin exists throughout, nor is there any between either character and Philip’s intended love interest, Louise Kendall, played by Holliday Grainger.

The actress is acceptable in a role given little meat or substance.

Uneven at best, My Cousin Rachel is a beautiful-looking period piece, but it is mostly just mediocre filmmaking. The ending is quite sudden and definitively answers none of the main plot questions.

Released in 2017, the film will likely be forgotten by 2018.

2017 Films, Drama, Period Drama

The Beguiled-2017

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The Beguiled-2017

Director Sofia Coppola

Starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst

Scott’s Review #659

Reviewed July 4, 2017

Grade: A-

A remake of the 1971 film (also adapted from an earlier novel) starring Clint Eastwood, The Beguiled is a 2017 release directed by Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, 2003), a director ready to burst onto the front lines.

Coppola carefully chooses her films, but each differs from the others, and The Beguiled is no different. A piece fraught with atmosphere and tension, Coppola does wonders from a directing standpoint.

The story has tons of unchartered potential and drags at times, but overall, The Beguiled is a hit if nothing more than to look at in wonderment.

The film gets off to a moody start as we follow a young girl, eerily humming as she picks mushrooms, along a deserted southern road. It is Civil War times (1864), and the setting is a mostly deserted all-girls boarding school in south Virginia.

The girl (Amy) is startled when she discovers an injured, handsome Union Army soldier, Corporal John McBurney (Farrell). Sympathetic, Amy helps the soldier back to the school, led by the headmistress, Martha Farnsworth (Kidman).

Slowly, the females in the school become enamored with John, developing rivalries to gain the upper hand in his affections.

There is something sinister and wickedly foreboding about almost every scene, as we shrink at the thought that something terrible will happen at any moment—sometimes it does, and sometimes it does not.

Almost like a horror film would, the camera angles are such that something or someone is bound to leap out and grab a character suddenly.

The colors are muted and almost pastel, and fog commonly floats through the exterior scenes.

Coppola does a fantastic job of portraying a deserted southern landscape. The film’s lighting is also intriguing, as lit candles enhance the dimness.

The final dinner scene (poison mushrooms, anyone?) is gloomy and Shakespearean.

Beyond the look of the film, The Beguiled is well-acted. With heavyweights like Farrell, Kidman, and frequent Coppola star, Kirsten Dunst, as the vulnerable and unhappy teacher, Miss Morrow, the acting is stellar and believable.

The audience is unsure if John is manipulating the women for his gain or if he has developed feelings for any (or all) of them.

With hormones raging, the lovesick teen, Alicia (Elle Fanning), sets her sights on John almost from the beginning, sneaking out of musical lessons to kiss an unconscious John goodnight.

While compelling, the story is relatively slow-moving, leaving the reader with infinite possibilities when the conclusion finally happens. Other than the tart Alicia, Miss Morrow and Miss Farnsworth could have reached endless romantic potential.

I was left wondering throughout the film when a romance would develop between Martha and John, but only towards the end was this ever addressed and barely skirted over. Stoic Martha slowly began to let her guard down as they took charge.

The film could have added some further romantic complications and beefed up the very short running time of ninety-three minutes.

As Nicole Kidman is one of my favorite film stars of all time (she can tell a story by facial expressions alone), she has wisely begun to choose fantastic supporting roles as she ages in Hollywood (2016’s Lion immediately comes to mind).

Dunst has aged gracefully into a middle-aged actress chomping at the bit for meaty roles, and Colin Farrell is as ruggedly handsome as ever, sprouting a dark and bushy beard for most of the role.

The acting in The Beguiled is fantastic.

The Beguiled is a film to watch if only to escape to the joys of superb, atmospheric filmmaking and to appreciate the outstanding talents of one of the few prominent female directors of today (hopefully, the mega success of 2017’s female-directed Wonder Woman will begin to change this).

The story has a few issues, but The Beguiled (2017) is worth the money.

2012 Films, Biography, Drama, Historical Drama, Period Drama, Political Drama

Lincoln-2012

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Lincoln-2012

Director Steven Spielberg

Starring Daniel Day-Lewis

Scott’s Review #476

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Reviewed September 10, 2016

Grade: A

Lincoln is a 2012 film, which received a slew of Academy Award nominations. However, opinions about the film itself differ.

Lincoln has audiences divided over whether it’s a brilliant film or a snoozefest.

My opinion leans decisively toward the former.

I recognize that (especially the first half) the film is slow-moving, but I found it engrossing and well-made.

Even the subtle aspects (costumes, art direction, lighting) are masterfully done.

I found Daniel Day-Lewis’s (Abraham Lincoln) lengthy stories intriguing, not dull, and a wonderful history lesson.

Steven Spielberg does what he does best- he creates a Hollywood film done well. He’s also done controversial, shocking, or experimental films, but mainstream fare is his forte.

This film isn’t for everyone, but if you have the patience, it will be an enlightening experience. If nothing else, a thing or two may be learned.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-Steven Spielberg, Best Actor-Daniel Day-Lewis (won), Best Supporting Actor-Tommy Lee Jones, Best Supporting Actress-Sally Field, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design (won), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing

1974 Films, Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

Daisy Miller-1974

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Daisy Miller-1974

Director Peter Bogdanovich

Starring Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman 

Scott’s Review #383

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Reviewed March 6, 2016

Grade: B

Daisy Miller is a largely forgotten 1974 film based on a Henry James novella of the same name, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring then-girlfriend Cybill Shepherd in the title role.

I admire the film in certain respects, but ultimately rank it as good, not spectacular. I pondered the film afterward and had a feeling that something was missing from it.

The story, set in the late 1800s, tells of a wealthy upstate New York family, led by the naïve Daisy Miller (Shepherd), visiting Europe in hopes of becoming more cultured and worldly, but instead is largely met with defiance and snobbery from European sophisticates. Daisy attempts to find love with her numerous potential suitors.

The film is largely shot in Switzerland and Italy.

The romantic story between Daisy and upper-class Frederick Winterbourne is the focal point. Daisy, a chatterbox and flirt, captures Winterbourne’s fancy, and he gradually woos her. Still, he is conflicted by social norms and by her innocent involvement with other men, most notably the dashing Italian Giovanelli.

This leads to conflict. I noticed some chemistry between Daisy and Winterbourne.

Bogdanovich, who only directed a handful of films, including the masterpiece The Last Picture Show (1971), uses several great actors in both films.

In addition to Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, and Eileen Brennan appear in supporting roles. Leachman as Daisy’s equally chatty and naïve mother, and Brennan as the vicious socialite Mrs. Parker.

Brennan, in particular, shines. Outstanding at playing snobs and unique character roles, this was right up Brennan’s alley, and she almost steals the show.

I adored the cinematography and the costumes featured in the production and thought both were the film’s main strengths.

The clothing the characters wear is both gorgeous and believable for the period. The backdrop in the hotel garden scene is exquisite and picturesque, with the lake, sky, and mountain all in full view, creating a unique viewing experience.

I also found the subject of cultural class distinctions quite interesting. The Millers are rich but uneducated and unlikable- they live in Schenectady and are considered far beneath the clever, intelligent figures of Europe.

They do not measure up and lack the same breeding and class as many of the other characters.

Adding to this is the fact that the Millers never really seemed all that interested in being in Europe, almost taking the opportunity for granted, so I was never completely captured by the Millers or found them particularly sympathetic as a group.

Given that she is the focus, I found Daisy Miller a bit unlikable, which could be due to the casting of Shepherd. Daisy’s endless rants, largely about herself, teetered on annoying, to say nothing of her irritating little brother.

Sure, Daisy is sweet and kindhearted, but there is something that did not compel me about her. She was a less charismatic, northern version of Scarlett O’Hara.

I kept wondering if other actresses might have brought more to the character and given her more muscle. Was this role a showcase for Shepherd because of her relationship with Bogdanovich?

The conclusion of the film surprised me, featuring a downcast ending I did not expect, given the sunny mood of the rest of the film, and this is to Bogdanovich’s credit.

He certainly did not make a mainstream film, and I admire that.

Daisy Miller (1974) is a mixed bag for me. I admire some aspects, but the story and the casting could have used a bit of work.

Oscar Nominations: Best Costume Design

2015 Films, Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

Brooklyn-2015

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Brooklyn-2015

Director John Crowley

Starring Saoirse Ronan

Scott’s Review #298

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Reviewed December 12, 2015

Grade: A

Brooklyn (2015) is a classic-style Hollywood film that I adored watching. It has a genuine innocence to it with wonderful, powerful acting and perfect cinematography/art direction.

The film is conventional and mainstream, but never sappy.

Based on Colm Toubin’s popular novel, Brooklyn takes place in the early 1950s and is set in Ireland and New York City.

Eilis Lacey, played by Saoirse Ronan, is a young Irish girl with good morals and traditional values. She is faithful and Catholic, with a good upbringing. Not rich by any means, she is intelligent and uses good sense, working hard on weekends in a grocery run by an unkind woman, to save money.

Thankfully, her older sister Rose, whom Eilis adores, has scrimped and saved enough for her to study in the United States, via a church program. Rose does not want Eilis to be trapped in the small Irish town.

While in New York City, an event occurs that necessitates Eilis’s return to Ireland. While home she develops a romantic dilemma that causes her to ponder whether to return to her new life in New York City or stay in Ireland.

Eilis is conflicted, which is the main focus of the story.

On paper, one might assume that Brooklyn is sappy, “chick flick” or a trite romance with predictability for miles- it isn’t. Everything about the film is perfect and is very detail-oriented.  The pieces somehow fit together- good direction, good camerawork, good acting, and good story-telling.

Throughout the film, I found myself in an emotional state.

When Eilis meets the young and charming Tony, a working-class Italian American, who becomes infatuated with her, I worried how their different backgrounds will be handled. Their courtship is sweet and tender and I cheered for them as their slow romance builds.

She is taught to eat pasta correctly to impress his traditional parents. He walks her home every night. Tony and Eilis have a sweetness and purity that is tough not to fall in love with as an onlooker.

On the other hand, when dramatic events unfold, the excellent acting makes Brooklyn a delight and quite emotionally powerful. One might find themselves in a flood of tears by the end.

Thanks to Ronan, an impressive talent since my discovery of her work in 2007’s Atonement, she elicits in Eilis a strength and stoicism that is tested when she breaks down at one point in the film.

Important to mention is the awe-inspiring performances by Fiona Glascott as Eilis’s sister Rose, and Jane Brennan as Eilis’s mother.

Unknown actresses (to me), both give dramatic and dynamic performances in their respective roles.

Wonderful to see are veteran character actors Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters as Father Flood and Madge, respectively.

What a visual treat Brooklyn is! As the title reveals, most of the action does take place in this New York City borough, and the influx of Irish and Italian immigrants during this period of history is apparent in the clothing and the cinematography.

The lush green and vast landscape of Ireland makes this divine to view.

A story of bravery, romance, and kindness, Brooklyn (2015) is a wholesome and feel-good film, but, I was immersed in the story and the look of the film from the very first shot.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress-Saoirse Ronan, Best Adapted Screenplay

2013 Films, Drama, New York City, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

The Immigrant-2013

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The Immigrant-2013

Director James Gray

Starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner

Scott’s Review #293

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Reviewed December 5, 2015

Grade: A-

The Immigrant (2013) is a lovely, classic, old-style Hollywood film set in early 1920’s New York City.

The film is a classic tale of a poor Polish immigrant who travels to America in hopes of a better life, only to be met with hardship, manipulation, and conflict.

However, The Immigrant is not a downer. Rather, a powerful and intriguing story of life and the clichéd pursuit of happiness, with a compelling love story mixed in.

Nominated for Best Actress for Two Days, One Night, eligible the same year as The Immigrant, this is a good example of how the Academy got it wrong, as Marion Cotillard should have been nominated for this performance instead.

The actress was, however, recognized with an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress for this role. A true talent, she gives a wonderful performance.

Little is known about Ewa’s (Cotillard) life before she arrives on Ellis Island with her sister Magda in tow.

We meet them as they disembark a ship and wait in line at the immigration station, weary from their escape from war-torn Poland.

They have escaped their native country in hopes of a better life in the United States.

Unfortunately, Magda is ill, cannot hide a cough, and is sent to the infirmary, most likely before being sent back to Poland.

Ewa desperately needs money and is told that her Aunt and Uncle have not shown up to collect her as she had originally thought.

She is now on her own and desperate in a land where she knows not a soul.

As the plot unfolds, Ewa encounters two men who enter her life- Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) and Emil (Jeremy Renner)- brothers with a rivalry, both professionally and over Ewa.

They both fall in love with her- she is gorgeous and innocent, after all.

But can the men be trusted? Are their feelings true? We begin to get to know the men better, and not everything is as it seems or as it originally appeared.

The Immigrant perfectly captures the 1920s era cinematically with gorgeous cinematography and camera work.

Directed by James Gray, a director with a tendency to direct films set in New York City and feature a romantic element (Two Lovers comes to mind- also starring Joaquin Phoenix as a Jew pursuing a blonde girl).

In The Immigrant, I felt transported to the 1920s with Bruno’s dark coat and bowler and the characters’ costumes in general.

The Lower East Side, from the automobiles to the theaters, seems like that’s how it was back then- charming, artistic, and yet combustible too.

Marion Cotillard gives a soft yet tough performance as the long-suffering, heart-of-gold Ewa.

Her yearning to keep her traditional Catholic values while being transported into a new, dangerous world filled with corruption and the need to survive is heartbreaking, and Cotillard wears her heart on her sleeve.

She is also tougher and more stubborn than we first think she is- she will not be taken advantage of, and these aspects give the character complexity.

I did not see her as a victim.

Let’s not forget the men in the film; while it borders on turning into a “woman’s movie” towards the climax, and Cotillard is front and center, Phoenix and Renner are flawless.

Phoenix, with the larger role, is extremely complex, and it takes the audience until the final scene to entirely figure Bruno out.

I wish The Immigrant (2013) would have found a wider audience, but for fans of a traditional, classic, romantic Hollywood experience, this film is a treat.

It will take you back to an earlier time in the world- in a completely authentic way.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Female Lead-Marion Cotillard

2014 Films, British, Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

A Little Chaos-2014

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A Little Chaos-2014

Director Alan Rickman

Starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts

Scott’s Review #269

Reviewed August 22, 2015

Grade: B-

A Little Chaos (2014) is a difficult film to review.

The film does not kick into high gear, or much of a gear, until the final thirty minutes or so, as the drama hits a crescendo and past events are suddenly explained.

At this point, it becomes a very entertaining film.

Until then, it is largely a bore and slow-paced.

Starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Alan Rickman, who also directs the film, A Little Chaos is a good film with beautiful period-piece costumes to marvel at, and it feels great. Still, it misses the mark with a lack of momentum balance throughout.

It is also largely fictionalized, which makes it less enjoyable to watch.

A period drama set at the gorgeous Versailles in France, in the late 1600s, when King Louis XIV of France is in power and lives on the illustrious estate.

Landscaper Andre Le Nôtre hires unconventional gardener Sabine (Winslet) to create one of the gardens.

Sabine is progressive and does not live in the past. Rather, she has ideas for creating a unique pattern. Sabine is instructed to incorporate a wonderful fountain within the garden.

She faces hostility from staff members for simply being a woman, and they refuse to work for her.

Others admire her creativity.

As the plot unfolds, Sabine has romantic feelings for Andre, a man trapped in a loveless marriage with Françoise, and they begin a tender courtship.

The past haunts Sabine, and she frequently hears cries in her dreams. The audience does not know what her past life was, only that she is widowed.

The final act brings everything together nicely. We learn about Sabine’s past, and her suggested dalliance with Andre comes to fruition.

After the film, I was left thinking how exceptional it was, but then I remembered most of it dragged.

The themes of A Little Chaos are class systems, feminism, and societal views. At first, snubbed by some for being a commoner, Sabine is slowly accepted by the royal figures, including the King himself, whom Sabine humorously mistakes for the gardener at one point.

Ideally, it would have been lovely if a woman had been hired to create the garden.

Sadly, events do not happen this way, but it is someone’s fantasy.

A Little Chaos (2014) has great potential and looks beautiful- my main complaint is that, for most of the film, nothing happens.

Also disappointing is that the film was not filmed at the historical Versailles, nor was it even shot in France. Every exterior scene was filmed in England.

This isn’t a deal-breaker, but some authenticity would have been nice.

Another major detraction is that Sabine De Barra is not even a real-life figure, but rather is fictionalized- sort of how the past should have been but wasn’t really.

If she were a real person, the film would be more interesting. What is the investment?

From an acting standpoint, the film succeeds. Winslet, a highly talented actress, is well cast, and the chemistry between her and Matthias Schoenaerts is palpable. Both actors are believable in their roles.

Stanley Tucci, typically great in whatever he appears in, plays Philippe, a silly, slightly effeminate Duke who does more to annoy than to amuse and is a trivial character.

Throughout the film, I kept thinking it was the kind of movie you should like because it looks great, but something was missing.

The royal drama, sexual dalliances, and antics were fun, but I felt like the film could have been much more than it ended up being.

2012 Films, Drama, Historical Drama, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

Anna Karenina-2012

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Anna Karenina-2012

Director Joe Wright

Starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law

Scott’s Review #126

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Reviewed July 22, 2014

Grade: B+

Anna Karenina (2012) is the film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel.

Shamefully, I hadn’t read the novel, but I was familiar with the story, so I wasn’t sure how successful the transition from novel to film would be.

The transition proved to be quite successful, as it would turn out.

Being a fan of director Joe Wright, who did wonderful work directing Atonement in 2007, I consider him a master of costumed period pieces, and Anna Karenina is no different in that regard.

It differs, however, in how it is shot. The film is non-traditional, shot with jarring, quick camera movements interspersed with musical numbers.

It resembles Moulin Rouge (2001) in style and isn’t for everyone’s tastes. I enjoy this technique, and combined with the wonderful art direction/costumes, it makes for modern, unique storytelling.

Keira Knightley is adequate as Anna, but nothing special. I have to wonder if she was cast simply because she is typically the lead in Joe Wright films.

It is a tragedy, of course, and a tale of a lonely, love-torn young woman conflicted between two high-class men.

On a broader scale, it’s a story of the romantic entanglements of the high-class world and their trials and tribulations, centering on Anna.

The film’s look impressed me more than the story did.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design (won)