Pun Salad

Based on the famous Russian novel by Tolstoy!

The movie is set in 1870s Russia, mostly in the upper strata of the aristocracy. The centerpiece—why would the call the movie this otherwise—is young Anna (Keira Knightley); she's married to much older Alexei (Jude Law), but fatefully (and, eventually, fatally) attracted to the young and dashing Count Vronsky.

There are subplots: Anna's dad is a serial adulterer, which causes problems in his marriage; friend Levin is smitten with Kitty, who's initially attracted to Vronsky, but by the end of the book realizes this folly. Levin is also devoted to a philosophy that causes him to live in the countryside, working the fields with his serfs. (These subplots are given much more weight in the book, but they're just pointless tack-ons in the movie.)

The main gimmick about the movie: a lot of it takes place in a theater setting: not only on stage, but backstage, in the rigging, down where the audience would sit. Some sort of metaphor for urban life? Maybe, as Levin's farm is apparently in the great outdoors. This gimmick, and other in-your-face stylistic flourishes were lost on me; it made the whole movie come across as affected and dishonest.

It won the Oscar for costumes, though. And it was nominated for cinematography, production design, and musical score. So if you're a fan of those things, even when they're wrapped around a pretentious, empty movie, check it out. But otherwise, read the book: it's not bad.