![Emma (2020) [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/717DpCV+qGL._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
I have not (yet) read Tolstoy's novel and maybe that is why I could love this movie so much compared to so many who simply hated it. I *never* purchase movies but purchased this one from Amazon. I've now watched the film 3 times and am on the 4th as I write. Each successive time I catch new bits of mastery and genius by director Joe Wright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard.
The movie has so many layers it is hard to adequately describe. I can only say watch, and watch again. After the third or fourth time you will start to see how the pieces of this movie fit together like the pieces of any exceptional puzzle -- the blend of flavors by a great chef, the interplay of notes and themes of a great composition, the design of a beautiful garden.
What is it that grabs you and just doesn't let go?:
*DANCE & CHOREOGRAPHY are THE star of this show. You don't quite know if this is realism, camp, vogue, ballet, broadway, or what. For me it worked beautifully and I typically don't like musicals. There is no singing, but the combination of realistic dialog and story with the fantastical dance and choreographed movement of the actors worked stunningly. My favorite scene of the movie -- the waltz scene -- is just mesmerizing...all of the dancers became frozen in time until Anna and Vronsky waltz past and pull them whirling into their vortex. In particular Aaron Taylor-Johnson's dancing left me slackjawed. All I can say is watch for yourself and see if you've ever seen a man dance like that.
*SCREENPLAY. Brilliant. Each time I watch I see how the screenplay brings certainly not all of Tolstoy's plot, but surely a great deal of the meaning and larger themes he brought to the novel (I've since read several novel summaries). The screenplay is layered -- each time you watch again you see and understand more. These little bits step out front when you have watched several times and are no longer so distracted by the gorgeous and fantastical spectacle that is going on.
*SETTING. As others have noted; all the world's a stage in this movie. For the first 10 minutes you don't know if you are watching the characters watch a play, but then you realize they *are* the play. I remember feeling very off guard my first time watching...is Stiva going to be murdered by the barber? Is the giant pear a bomb? Why is the barber like a toreador? Why is a couple dancing on the theater floor and another woman wandering playing a concertina? What the HECK is going on??? After about 5 or 10 minutes you get it, settle in and it no longer seems strange... you truly feel that life *IS* art. You never stop marveling at the beauty and ingenuity of it this bold directorial choice. The juxtaposition of reality and theater setting, the model trains segueing to real trains and back -- these things seem like they could not possibly work in theory. But they work. The choreography and dialogue of the actors at cousin Betsy's society party and her firework surprise were visually stunning and just magical.
* COSTUMES. Lavish, gorgeous, over the top. Wright uses color like no other. Vronsky is all blond youthful curls, bright blue-eyed, and wore white and light blue, while Anna has deep dark burden of an older woman who has never loved -- she is dark haired, eyed and skinned, and wears only black or dark colors. Wright made the unusual choice of using a lot of redhead and very fair-skinned men throughout and film, which was quite beautiful with the film's coloring, and yet cast olive skinned women as their love interests. Very rich, visually interesting film.
* ACTING: Jude Law as Karenin, Matthew McFayden as Anna's brother Stiva, Domnhall Gleeson as country landowner Levin all had scene-stealing performances. Olivia Williams shined as Vronsky's mother. Ruth Wilson's delightful turn as Vronsky's bad-tinkerbell cousin Princess Betsy made a new fan of me. Keira Knightly -- I'd give a maybe little pat on the back but nothing special. She looked exquisite and handled her part quite well and maybe that was enough. While everyone says Aaron Taylor-Johnson was miscast as Vronsky, I suppose that is only if you expect the character to be true to the novel. I thought Aaron brought a rakish vulnerability to the character that I've never quite seen on screen -- now that I think of it perhaps only Richard Gere in his youth -- rather like a desperate child on the one hand; on the other an arrogant cad, stopping at nothing to embroil a married woman in his torrid lust (or is it love?) affair. I think he will turn out to be one of this generations most gifted actors. You know the saying "so handsome it hurts". Well he's that too. Just as exquisite as Keira...so in that sense they are well matched, though I thought his depth as an actor was far greater. Their almost impossible beauty adds to the pain of the relationship.
Any more and this review would be too long. See it for yourself, stick it out, and if nothing else, see something like you've never seen before.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
February 4, 2013 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $8.10 | $1.08 |
|
DVD
February 4, 2013 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $10.69 | $10.58 |
Watch Instantly with 
| Rent | Buy |
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
About Us
Universal Pictures is an American film studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal, and is one of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Universal was founded in 1912 by the German Carl Laemmle (pronounced "LEM-lee"), Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour.
Six of Universal Studios' films; Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Furious 7 (2015) and Jurassic World (2015) achieved box office records, with the first three (which were directed by Steven Spielberg) all becoming the highest-grossing film at the time of its initial release.
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a premium ad-supported streaming service. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Top reviews from other countries
Annika
Was ist das?
Reviewed in Germany on May 25, 2015
Annika
Reviewed in Germany on May 25, 2015
Wahnsinn. Mein absoluter Lieblingsfilm.
Kaum habe ich mich damit zurechtgefunden, dass Tolstois "Anna Karenina" von Joe Wright auf eine künstlerische und sehr schöne Weise verfilmt wird, so werde ich abermals durch künstlerische kleine tricks und optische Wundersamkeiten überwältigt. Mal spielt die Szene auf einer Bühne - mal nehme ich gar nicht wahr, dass das Büro von Karenin (Jude Law) sich im Zuschauerraum eines Theaters befindet. Dann bemerke ich es, die Kamera zoomt und sobald ich die Szene wieder im Vollbild betrachten kann, ist das Theater verschwunden. Ich kann mich von diesen kleinen abstrakten und wundervollen Verzierungen berauschen lassen - kann sie aber auch vollkommen ignorieren und der Handlung folgen, die durch die großartige Besetzung der Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) zu einem wahren Traum wird.
Das Russland des 19. Jahrhunderts wird durch die tolle Kameraführung, die wunderbaren Kulissen und die grandiosen Schauspieler unfassbar gut dargestellt. Es gibt kein Gut und kein Böse, wir leiden mit und verachten mit, wir spüren den Rausch der St.Petersburger Festsäle und die Qual der Moskauer Straßenbettler. Wir sehen die Charaktere mit anderen Augen, sehen ihre Schattenseiten und ihre Schönheit. Wir belachen und verstehen Kittys (Alicia Vikander) Verhalten, lieben und hassen Anna, und blicken sowohl auf zu Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) als auch verächtlich auf ihn herab.
Es wird die Schrecklichkeit der Liebe, der Hingabe der menschlichen Triebe auf eine Art dargestellt, die Tolstoi persönlich bestimmt gefallen hätte. Kontrastreich sehen wir die Charakterzüge in der Kleidung, dem Auftreten und dem Gemüt der Personen, wir sehen Verzweiflung, Angst und dummes Glück, das nur zum Unglück führen kann.
Wer die Kunst dieses Films selbst beurteilen will, wer selbst sehen will, wie sich dieser Anna Karenina-Film deutlich von den anderen Verfilmungen der Geschichte abgrenzt und wer selbt diese unglaubliche Hingabe der Geschichte Keira Knightleys, Aaron Taylor-Johnsons, Jude Laws bewundern will; der sollte sich dieses Kunstwerk so bald wie möglich ansehen.
Images in this review
IngaKS
Mesmerizing and blod version!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2013