New Movie Based on A Famous Novel
The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, best know for War and Peace lived a life of improbably transformation as he grew up as a noble member of society who came to pursue a virtuous life of literature and morality. During young adulthood, travels led him to Europe where he sought inspiration from new experiences and came into the graces of some distinguished writers at the time most notably Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. Upon returning to his home town of he served in the military also expanding his experiences that would later personify into novels encompassing descriptive narratives of daily life. To a reader with an affinity for distant, romantic culture portrayed from various viewpoints of society's classes, Tolstoy offers an intriguing backdrop for drama, love and despair.
His style was cast into the realist genre, which in it's truest form was associated with stories of actual characters and political themes. Because War and Peace took some liberty in establishing fictional characters and settings, the writer didn't consider his first realist novel complete until after finishing Anna Karenina that was published in 1877. The story is that of a lady living in privileged status with an idyllic family situation in a countryside close to the city of St. Petersburg. The titled character is married to Alexie Karenin with who she shares thier eight year old son Sergio. Temptation leads the flaunty Anna astray as she sets her reality aside to embark a lascivious affair with a cadet soldier, Count Alexei Gronsky, ironically bearing the same first name as her husband. The betrayal and suspense that such a situation demands is poignantly presented and also involves a philosophical component that the novel illustrates from the gentile family living nearby. The emotional conflict that's stirs within the main character is similarly passed along to the audience as the disapproving sentiment coincides with a curiosity for how Anna may sustain her quest for romantic fulfillment.
Adapting the book to screen is nothing new as many directors have tried their hand at recreating a thorough two hour version of the original . A silent rendition first appeared in 1927, titled "Love" and later in 1935, the same actress Greta Garbo filled the role in a reproduction, arguably the best that had been attempted. A lauded 1948 starring Julian Duvivier was followed by the on screen 1967 film. In 1985 a made for television version premiered, casting Christopher Reeve as Vronskly and in 1997 Jacqueline Bisset starred in what was the most recent production of the film. A new release though opened November 16 starring Keira Knightly and Aaron Taylor Johnson as the enchanted lovers. Alexei Karenin is played by Jude Law and neighbor Levin by Domhall Gleeson. Directed by Jon Wright, known for Pride and Prejudice(2005) and Atonement(2007) is expected to provide a great rendition of this scintillating tale.