The old saying, "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" seems to be especially true when it comes to writing about love. In my reading experience, most love stories written by women have love as the ultimate goal and as the one thing able to conquer all. In those written by men, love seems to tear worlds apart, and someone always dies in the end. (The Great Gatsby, anyone? And anything by Nicholas Sparks, ever.)
Last year as I tried—and failed—to make it successfully through Anna Karenina, I had a similar discussion with my brother. An avid reader, and a lover of Russian literature, he tried to explain that was the style of the classic Russian genre. My argument was that every time I read about love portrayed by a man, it was tragic. The woman was always just out of reach, causing the man to suffer, and the torment would lead to all kinds of bad things. This trend was frustrating to me. While I had no idea of the outcome of Anna Karenina, I trudged through the book, seeming to know that all would not end well.
Running a bit behind schedule, and realizing the movie release date was fast approaching, I caved and looked up the synopsis online. AND I WAS SO RIGHT! In the end (SPOILER ALERT) Anna goes crazy with her love and is so miserable and unhappy, she ruins the lives of two men and then JUMPS IN FRONT OF A TRAIN. I mean... it doesn't get much more tragic than that, Tolstoy.
This ruined the story for me and I wasn't sure I wanted to see the movie, even though Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen and Bill Weasley (err Domhnall Gleeson) were in it. It was also directed by Joe Wright, the genius behind the 2006 Pride & Prejudice (aka one of my all-time favorite movies). Ultimately, I decided to wait until it came out on DVD.
Then I forgot about it, until it arrived in my mailbox via Netflix this week.
Remember how I told you I love period dramas? Despite my distaste for this particular story, my love for this genre of film still rang true as I watched the scenes unfold before me. In the beginning, I felt confused. Instead of being filmed like a seamless portrayal of an older time, it was filmed as if we were watching a play. Backgrounds were lifted and lowered, we saw them on stages and actors switched scenes across the screen. I found it very confusing at first—and hurried—as filming sped through the beginning, touching on each character and giving us a tiny glimpse into their role and disposition. The sets were gorgeous and intricately produced, but I still felt confused as to why it was filmed in a theater. I did some reading, and all I could ascertain was that Joe Wright found the idea to be inspiring and challenging. My favorite parts of this film: 1. The costumes. Oh, goodness, the costumes. So exquisite, |
2. The continuity with other period dramas.
It makes me happy to know that whenever I watch a film like this, I can always depend on certain key phrases to make an appearance, like, "I daresay." It always sounds so proper, and makes me sad that people don't speak that way anymore.
3. The way Joe Wright films dance scenes.
The choreography was phenomenal. I'm fairly certain waltzes weren't actually this intricate, but then again, this was Russia—the birthplace of Russian Ballet—so it's highly possible everyone danced that gracefully back then. Regardless, it was beautiful to watch.
Similar to the Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth dance scene of Pride & Prejudice—where the crowd dies away and it's just the two of them, showcasing how no one else in the world existed or mattered in that moment—we watched the world disappear as Anna danced with Vronsky.
4. The actors.
We had a few big-names in this film, as well as some cameos by the likes of Shirley Henderseon (Moaning Myrtle) and up-and-comers Michelle Dockery and Thomas Howes from the wonderful Downton Abbey.
5. The love between Levin and Kitty.
This was my favorite part of the book. Though in the beginning, Levin felt the sting of rejection and Kitty felt the remorse of her choice, things turn around for these two. They end up happy, satisfied and in love. The story needed the balance of a couple like this, to prove that not all loves are torturous and full of sadness like Anna and Vronsky's. Levin also tells Kitty he loves her with initials on blocks as they play a word guessing-game. Such a sweet thing, and it was filmed exactly the way I pictured it.
All in all, despite my confusion in the beginning, I found it to be a beautifully executed movie. I have also decided I prefer certain literary classics to be told to me in cinematic form, versus the original prose. At least this way, I was spared the pages and pages of monologue discussing virtue, class society, war and the meaning of life.