Anna Karenina

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Anna Karenina

R

2012

2h 9m

Romance

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

192 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley), the wife of a Russian imperial minister (Jude Law), creates a high-society scandal by an affair with Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a dashing cavalry officer in 19th-century St. Petersburg. Anna's husband, Alexei, offers her a difficult choice: Go into exile with Vronsky but never see her young son again, or remain with her family and abide by the rules of discretion. Meanwhile, a farmer named Levin pines for Princess Kitty, who only has eyes for Vronsky.

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Critics Consensus

Joe Wright's energetic adaptation of Tolstoy's classic romance is a bold, visually stylized work -- for both better and worse.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Wright has said he did not wish to make 'yet another period drama', and he's achieved this, has explored something new, but at an emotional cost.

Sep 1, 2018

Full Review

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

It's far from a perfect film, but Anna Karenina should be praised for its attempt to reinvent the wheel of stuffy costume-clad Masterpiece Theater for the big screen.

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2017

Full Review

Graham Fuller

Film Comment Magazine

The look is gorgeous, of course, but seldom has so much aestheticization served so much heartlessness.

Nov 5, 2013

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

While even skilled filmmakers would have trouble adapting Tolstoy’s novel in a straightforward form, Wright attempts a book-to-stage-to-film approach and, for the first time in his career, stretched his considerable talent thin.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 20, 2022

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Jason Adams

My New Plaid Pants

The machinery of the music box comes undone in our hands, but the light dancing on the little silver gears is still so beautiful and heartbreaking.

Jul 2, 2021

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

The characters, so beautifully drawn by Tolstoy, are severely truncated in the film, functioning as relatively impoverished figures.

Feb 28, 2021

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Marit Risto F

Again the old nevrotic split between the lover and the husband. The damnation of passionate women, even if certain "adulterous" men go free. Could have been fabulous if old Lev had been, well, different. Go Anna! Keep rolling your ball

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/25/25

Full Review

Tom M

If you really want to get into the story and tragedy of Anna Karenina, this is probably not the film for you. Not Hollywood style by any means. It has the brechtian alienation effect. You're watching it all play out, but aware this is a production . Watchable in spite of this.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/31/25

Full Review

Julian Rex M

Keira Knightley and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's dry performances do little to elevate a truncated and emotionally flat Anna Karenina--a film more content to step through its source materials narrative beats rather than dig deeply into its philosophical underpinnings--but nonetheless, it is difficult to ignore director Joe Wright's arresting creative vision whose visual ambition ultimately outweighs its faults... if only just.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

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lillll G

Impossible to watch. The atmosphere, the feelings - just aren't there. If you are trying to adapt a Russian classic novel, understanding the culture is crucial.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/03/25

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aaron r

What a monumental piece of trash, and such an incredible amount of talent wasted. This was a very disgusting deconstructionist approach. it was almost like Joe Wright hates the audience. The music is intentionally unnerving the entire time, but it's beautifully shot, with an amazing cast. Good for stills, and maybe a trailer/teaser. I freaking LOATHE this film. Good artists are going to take vengeance, mark my words.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/22/25

Full Review

Khadidja G

Amazing directing but oh my god the plot didn't hit at all. Too much train forshadowing, no chemistry at all between Anna and Vronsky (which is crazy because Keira Knightley and Aaron Taylor Johnson are both very attractive people). The side characters were more interesting (Matthew Macfadyen and Domhnall Gleeson outsold)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

Full Review

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Joe Wright

Director

Keira Knightley

Anna Karenina

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Vronsky

Jude Law

Karenin

Domhnall Gleeson

Levin

Alicia Vikander

Kitty

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - The Horse Race

3:21

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - Will You Marry Me?

2:00

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - The Smaller Sin

2:38

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - Forgive Me

2:09

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - Anna & Vronsky

3:13

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - I'm Pregnant

1:38

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - An Insult to Decency

3:15

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - Did No Mean Never?

3:13

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - Too Late

2:16

Anna Karenina: Official Clip - I Am His Mistress

2:26

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Synopsis

Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley), the wife of a Russian imperial minister (Jude Law), creates a high-society scandal by an affair with Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a dashing cavalry officer in 19th-century St. Petersburg. Anna's husband, Alexei, offers her a difficult choice: Go into exile with Vronsky but never see her young son again, or remain with her family and abide by the rules of discretion. Meanwhile, a farmer named Levin pines for Princess Kitty, who only has eyes for Vronsky.

Director: Joe Wright
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Screenwriter: Tom Stoppard
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Working Title Films
Rating: R (Violence|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Romance, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 30, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 14, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.8M
Runtime: 2h 9m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital

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