It’s no secret that I love Joe Wright’s work and as much as I loved Hanna, it’s going to take more than on really great action thriller to convince me that period dramas, and more specifically period dramas based on acclaimed novels, aren’t Wright’s calling. He can take all the time he needs and test any waters he might as long as he comes back to the period drama because few directors today seem to handle the material quite as well as Wright does.
It remains to be seen if Anna Karenina, an adaptation of of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel no less, will be just as wonderful as most of Wright’s previous projects but the first trailer certainly suggests as much. The project is adapted by Oscar winner Tom Stoppard and re-unites Wright’s muse Keira Knightley with Matthew Macfadyen and adds the likes of Kelly Macdonald, Jude Law, Emily Watson and Aaron Johnson (the Kick-Ass star seems the odd-man out until you consider his filmography and realise that actually Kick-Ass seemed less in line with his other work though it is what most people know him for).
It’s lush, it’s gorgeous, the music soars, the costumes shine, Knightley looks beaten, Law looks angry and Johnson seems to be filling the role of heartbreaker to a tee. Even more so than Wright’s previous projects, watching this trailer I was reminded of the old romantic epics I love so much. Yes, I thought of Gone with the Wind but what it mostly reminds me of is David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago (interesting bit of useless trivia: in 2002, Knightley starred in a TV adaptation of “Doctor Zhivago.”). Basically, this looks glorious.
Anna Karenina will break our hearts on November 9th.
And the Row Three Joe Wright Appreciation Society is back in session.
Big fan of the Kiera/ Wright pairing so far, this cannot disappoint
Ooooh, I knew about this, but I didn’t realize Tom Stoppard was doing the script. Even more on board now.
Gag me with a spoon.
Someone should’ve told Matt that no one flies or shoots lasers in this story.
Nothing like paying good money for the 19th Century version of Keeping up with the Kardashians!
Whoa! I didn’t think the visuals in Atonement could be beaten. I was wrong. God I love Nov-Jan in the cinemas.
Andrew, what do you think of Scorsese’s “Age of Innocence”? Great period drama that I never hear mentioned.
LOVE.
I have never seen it. Ashamed to say I haven’t seen a lot of Scorsese’s stuff. Especially pre-”Andrew in High School.” I’m not much of a Pfeiffer or Ryder fan, but the trailer makes it looks pretty good visually. And Day-Lewis is always a treat. Costumes!
You have to watch it, Andrew. Marina agrees. It won for best costume design and Pfeiffer and Lewis are on their A+ game, not to mention Scorsese.
Yes I will also say that Age of Innocence is excellent and I like it more than Atonement. Daniel Day-Lewis is awesome in and the film looks beautiful. It reminds me a bit of Barry Lyndon, not too much, but I know that is Scorsese’s favorite Kubrick film so I’m sure you looked to that film for some inspiration.
Pretty much loved this thing. Sitting very comfortably in my honorable mention spot in the top ten of 2012. Not all that emotionally engaging for some reason, but the spectacle and the original way of shooting this thing all on one set (sort of) was spectacular. The novelty never wore off for me and I admit it, Knightley’s face is unflinchable.
Huge miscast with Kiera but otherwise as spectacle it works.