Anna Karenina

An admittedly lavish and magnificently-mounted production. I have not read Leo Tolstoy's novel nor seen previous film adaptations with Greta Garbo or Vivien Leigh, so I don't know if my sympathies are misplaced, but as portrayed by Sophie Marceau, I didn't much care for Anna Karenina. A depressive sort, she deserved her misfortune, as far as I was concerned, for deserting her husband and family for this Count Vronsky guy (Sean Bean). Both must have skipped high school science because they have no chemistry together. More compelling is Alfred Molina's soulful performance as her cousin, Constantin Levin for whom "the fear of dying without ever having known love was greater than the fear of death itself." This film could have used much more of that passion. Not recommended. (K. Lee Benson)