Perhaps the most underrated aspect of the 2012 adaptation is Jude Law’s portrayal of Alexei Karenin. Traditionally played as a cold, unfeeling villain, Law brings a tragic humanity to the role. His Karenin is a man of rules and
This is not merely a gimmick; it is a conceptual masterstroke that solves the problem of adaptation. Tolstoy’s Russia is a society ruled by rigid social codes, hypocrisy, and performance. By turning the world into a stage, Wright visualizes the suffocating nature of Anna’s world. The aristocrats move with choreographed precision; scene changes happen via winches and pulleys; the camera pans from a candlelit audience to a horse race happening "on stage" in the blink of an eye. Anna Karenina -2012-
Enter Joe Wright.