Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was so eager to get this movie that I ordered it before viewing it. Luckily I was able to stop the order after seeing it On Demand. What a horrific representation of Tolstoy's masterpiece. Be ready for a bizarre ride. Not only does the director try far too hard to approach it in a unique and original fashion (stages, sets, slow or frozen actors, behind the stage scenes, etc.) they completely destroy the story. Anyone going into this without having read the book will have no idea what is going on and instead of feeling compassion for Anna one only feels contempt and very little sorrow in her last act, as she is more like Madame Bovary than Tolstoy's tragic heroine. Important things missing...here are just a few! Anna being married to someone far older than her. An arranged marriage, not a love one. Anna trying desperately NOT to get involved or compromise herself, hence the heroine. Kiera Knightley's version makes her very little less than a common prostitute rather than fateful star-crossed lovers. Kitty being ill, kitty being heartbroken, Kitty rising above her station, lowering herself because of love and compassion. Levin trying to figure out the meaning of life. Levin's brother being washed not because he was sick, but because he was dying and his body was being prepared before the priest came to give last rites. Sad abandonment of any "Beautiful Corners" where Icons are placed for prayers in each household. No scenes of marriages in the Orthodox Church and who will raise their candle the highest. No explanation of why Anna is taking morphine and why it gets out of hand. Not enough of her unbearable grief being parted from her son. BTW...does she even care about her daughter?? The worker who sees Anna kill herself and the candle that goes out. The list goes on. Glad we only paid a few dollars to view this for the next 2 days. Gorgeous costumes and lushness, but no story to back it up. Get the version with Sophie Marceau or the PBS one if you want to see the heartbreaking story Tolstoy meant to portray.