Onegin

R

Released Feb 5, 2000

1 hr. 46 min.

History

Drama

List

48%

27 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1820s St. Petersburg, Russia, the cynical nobleman Onegin (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself the new owner of a country estate following the death of his uncle. Deciding to abandon the fast-paced city for the leisurely countryside, Onegin takes over the estate. There, he soon befriends his neighbor Lensky (Toby Stephens), who introduces the aristocrat to his fiancee's sister, Tatyana (Liv Tyler). Onegin and Tatyana share an attraction, but Onegin's coldness threatens the relationship.

Read More

Read Less

Nawt W

From the get-go, the notion of adapting Pushkin into another language is candidly inadvisable. You will remove half the appeal of the work, and the "heart" of the opus might not even get converted at all. This one isn't an exception here. Nevertheless, there are factors that put this movie above what you might expect. Dialogue naturally can't compete with verse given that every line is dispassionate to the point where it saturates Onegin in a persistent stench of melancholy. Not that there isn't a persistent theme of wasted youth and meaningless existence, but still, that's not all that novel had, and passionless was the last thing you could call its verses. This even slinks into the finale, of course, and in view of the fact that the ending was left open-ended specifically for such interpretations, we can't fault the movie for going full tragedy at the end. Meanwhile, it's all at the cost of Pushkin's wit and reverence for Onegin, which, unsurprisingly for everyone, is just his flailing self-insert. In any event, the movie astutely replaces this with what you might call filmmaking. There are many extensive stretches of silence, and the pure atmosphere of whatever UK province they filmed it in. The soundtrack is fantastic, even if much of the non-original music is painfully not from the period. The actors are terrific and completely sell their parts, even if Lensky and Olga just don't have anything to work with since the bulk of their character scenes are nonexistent, making them largely glorified plot devices. But nevertheless, I don't think the movie's interpretation of the plot is worthless, and all things considered, it's a serviceable adaptation.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/10/23

Full Review

isla s

I found the main character quite pompous and odious. I liked the somewhat lavish and opulent settings and the costumes/dresses/uniform of the time. It is a slow paced film but its none the less interesting to learn about various peoples backgrounds. It was surprisingly atmospheric at times. I also quite liked how Tatiana talked to Onegin (which is pronounced 'on-yay-gh-inn' by others in the film, for reference). This is a somewhat arty film I suppose, with some nice classical music played and some good camera shots used to make scenes, such as the dances, more engrossing and atmospheric. One of the final scenes I found most compelling viewing, with the two main characters opening up in hushed tones.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

matthew d

A tragic romance worthy of the dreary Russian classic novel. Martha Fiennes' Onegin (1999) is a depressing and gray adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's verse novel Eugene Onegin (1833). Martha Fiennes brings this iconic Russian novel to life with a dark perspective and a subtle lens of the male and female gaze. Remi Adefarasin's cinematography captures period Russia with ornate, if dreary homes and desolate surroundings. Many shots with close-ups on characters' faces feel so revealing without a word needing to be said. I do think this film goes on too long like it has a few too many scenes that could be the last shot. It elided much of the novel into a more succinct format, but it still could have told the same story in a shorter fashion. Jim Clark's editing is nice within each scene, but he needed to seriously trim the length of each shot. The pace is so languid, I can understand how many audience members were bored if they were not already invested in this tragic romance story Pushkin's writing is as biting as ever. Unfortunately, the film loses much of his poetic verse language and phrasing, but his ideas are still present here. A cynical man getting rejected years after hurting the woman he loves is a timeless narrative and remains a brave conclusion. This is a romance drama, but the focus in on the negligent, cruel, and aloof Onegin. Ralph Fiennes is excellent as Eugene Onegin. His carefree attitude and pessimistic tone reveals all his character's intentions. His thought pattern is evidently negative and his actions cruel. Fiennes portrays Onegin as a socialite out of boredom and mean spirited for the sake of it. Ralph Fiennes is simply marvelous in this tragic role. Lastly, I really appreciated Liv Tyler's performance in Onegin. She is endearing and lovely, but genuinely captured the face of a woman whose love rejects her. Once she is devastated and free to marry another, Tyler acting just gets better and better. Her finale confrontation with Onegin is outstanding. When she reveals that Onegin was, "just too late," you seriously want to cry. In short, Onegin is a solid romance drama with a crescendo of pain and unhappiness that is fascinating to watch unfold.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

After reading the novel, and then watching the movie, I can safely say that the makers of this film missed the point of Onegin. It was a satire on Russian upper-class culture. It was never meant to be taken this seriously. Here, you can have the love story portion of Onegin, completely neutered of it's humor, with the most stilted acting you'll get in a period piece. How boring.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ralph Fiennes does world-weary so wel.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was really romantic. I just was sure before that Tatiana didn't cry and didn't show any tear at the end. She already knew how to hide her emotions and clearly and honestly said him no, it's too late. But this version where she almost didn't get older (and Onegin didn't get older as well) is good anyway.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Martha Fiennes

Director

Ralph Fiennes

Evgeny Onegin

Liv Tyler

Tatyana Larina

Toby Stephens

Vladimir Lensky

Lena Headey

Olga Larina

Martin Donovan

Prince Nikitin

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

70%

85%

Dangerous Beauty

36%

55%

Dreaming of Joseph Lees

64%

66%

Ride With the Devil

34%

58%

The Libertine

84%

86%

Elizabeth

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Onegin is as pretty a picture as anyone could want of a Russian lit-flick ...

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Derek Elley

Variety

The heart of Pushkin's celebrated classic pumps firm and full in debuting director Martha Fiennes' richly textured pic version.

Jun 17, 2008

Full Review

Time Out

Even if grand pathos isn't achieved, Martha Fiennes makes a brave and welcome stab at it.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

Rated: 0/5

Oct 26, 2006

Full Review

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Rated: C

Jul 24, 2006

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Overall, Onegin is a bit of a sloppy and untidy affair, but that goes a long way in distinguishing it from the 7000 other movies of this type.

Rated: 2.5/4

May 26, 2006

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

In 1820s St. Petersburg, Russia, the cynical nobleman Onegin (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself the new owner of a country estate following the death of his uncle. Deciding to abandon the fast-paced city for the leisurely countryside, Onegin takes over the estate. There, he soon befriends his neighbor Lensky (Toby Stephens), who introduces the aristocrat to his fiancee's sister, Tatyana (Liv Tyler). Onegin and Tatyana share an attraction, but Onegin's coldness threatens the relationship.

Director: Martha Fiennes
Executive Producer: Ralph Fiennes
Screenwriter: Peter Ettedgui, Michael Ignatieff, Aleksandr Pushkin
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company, Sterling Home Entertainment
Production Co: Canwest, Rysher Entertainment, Baby Productions, 7 Arts International, Starz!
Rating: R
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 5, 2000, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $183.8K
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo