#anti vronsky

[veronicaleighauthor]

Levin and Kitty

Leo Tolstoy wrote the multi-faceted novel, “Anna Karenina” as somewhat of a cautionary tale. The romance between Anna and her lover Vronsky was ill-fated from the start, yet since the novel was published, the passion between the two has been glorified as “true love.” Somehow committing adultery and abandoning your spouse and child and living in exile with a lover is romantic. Anna Karenina refuses to give up her lover, despite her husband’s threats and eventual forgiveness. She leaves her husband and son behind and runs off to be with Vronsky. Her choice is not without its consequences. Anna is ostracized by society, whereas Vronsky is free to go where he pleases. Feeling isolated, she falls into a deep depression and when her love for him is no longer enough to live for, she throws herself in front of a train.

Though Anna Karenina’s storyline was true to life, I could never quite connect to it. I had sympathy and understanding for her, but it wasn’t what drew me in. There was another part of the novel that fascinated me.

Levin and Kitty.

Levin and Kitty play second-fiddle to Anna and Vronsky, however, it is their love that stands the test of time. While their romance is smiled upon by society, maybe considered boring” by the world’s standards, and has its ups and down, theirs embodies the notion of “true love” in its purest form.

Konstantin Levin had known the Shcherbatsky family since he was young and wanted nothing more than to be a member of it. Overtime he falls in love with the youngest Shcherbatsky daughter, Kitty, and though there is an age gap, contrasting religious beliefs and opposite temperaments, their differences complement each other. Unfortunately for Levin, Kitty’s head has been turned by the handsome and charming Alexei Vronsky…the same Vronsky who seduces Anna Karenina (he may be charming and good-looking, but I can’t stand Vronsky). Vronsky flirts with Kitty, leading her to believe that he feels more for her than what he really does. And Kitty, being young and naïve, fancies herself in love.

When Levin does work up the courage to propose to Kitty and she turns him down, he is devastated and retreats from society, secluding himself to his farm. Kitty expects a proposal from Vronsky and is confused when he pulls away and takes up with the married Anna Karenina. Her disappointment leads to sickness…heart sickness. She soon realizes that she had turned away a good and honest man, one that she could have had a future with.

Levin is determined to hate Kitty for refusing him, but his love for her won’t allow him. He comes to understand that perhaps he had not been the most dedicated suitor, distancing himself at times when he should have made his intentions clear.

Stiva, Levin’s friend, intervenes and does a little matchmaking, which leads to Levin and Kitty socializing once more. Through a game of letters, Levin relays his love to Kitty and proposes once more. This time Kitty accepts. However, the course of true love mirrors real life, as it does not run smooth for these two. Levin feels he must be honest with his future wife about the more sordid details of his past and shows Kitty his diary. Although upset, Kitty forgives him of his sins. On the day of the wedding, Levin gets cold feet and is about to call it off when Kitty convinces him that she loves him and wants to marry him. The wedding goes on without a hitch.

            Levin and Kitty are generally happy, though their union isn’t perfect. Levin is used to a solitary life while Kitty wants to spend all of her time with him and is more social. Their love is put to the test when Levin learns that his brother is on his deathbed. He has no intention of bringing Kitty, but she insists and is a comfort when his brother passes away. Their struggles are rewarded with the birth of their firstborn son. Though frightened by the prospect of being a father, Levin falls in love with his child.

He has personal troubles, including an identity crisis. He struggles through his own bouts of depression and searches for the meaning of life. In the past he was a skeptic of God and of the Russian Orthodox Church. But he eventually makes peace with God and finds his own happy ending with his family.

Levin and Kitty’s romance best illustrates 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 

It’s Levin and Kitty’s romance that gives me hope. It’s a love story of second chances – and that’s what we all need from time to time. A second chance.

[moonpascaltoo]

aaron taylor johnson characters

╰┈➤ 18+ none of these stories belong to me! this is a masterlist of all aaron johnson stories i’ve read and reblogged! just thought it would be nice to have them all in one spot! (if your fic is on here and you wish not to be, please let me know!) <3

MASTERLIST • 11/04/24

˚‧⁺ ･ ˖ · ୨ৎ recs

tangerine

james potter two

dave lizewski / kickass

𑣲 villian!reader I @anjaelle

𑣲 so? whatever part 2 part 3 I @astermath

The preppy girl that just about everyone admires has more in common with Dave than he expects. He doesn’t quite know how to handle this information, but it excites him nonetheless.

𑣲 take a break I @/astermath

dave has been overdoing the kickass activities, and you’re worried every other night could be his last. he tries to comfort you and tell you he’ll be okay. you’re not sure you believe him.

𑣲 gymcrush!dave I @growup-thatbeautiful

𑣲 request I @murdrdocs

dave is the type of horny idiot that doesn't know that women masturbate too.

𑣲 knowing me, knowing you I @pretty-little-mind33

Being partners with Kick-Ass is far more intimidating when you have a huge crush on him, especially when he won't stop talking about his crush.

𑣲 if it wasn't for the nights I @/pretty-little-mind33

You're having a bad day and you and Dave share earbuds on the bus.

𑣲 do it for me I @moonlightspencie

pietro maximoff / quicksilver

𑣲 a bit distracted I @acciopietro

in which pietro needs to start paying better attention. and maybe listening to his sister more.

𑣲 i’ll be back before you even know it I @toothfa-1-ry

𑣲 the silent treatment I @floral-and-fine

Soulmate AU where the words their soulmate speaks first are tattooed on their arm.

𑣲 hole in the wall I @sebsbarnes

despite barely knowing the brainwashed girl beyond the wall, pietro refused to hurt her, no matter how much she hurt him.

𑣲 fernando I @/pretty-little-mind33

You don't want to share a bed with Pietro. He wants nothing more than to share one with you.

𑣲 voulez-vous I @/pretty-little-mind33

𑣲 karma I @/pretty-little-mind33

you hate Pietro for how he treats you, or at least you do until you're stuck in an elevator with him.

tom ryder

𑣲 dating tom ryder would include I @nyxvuxoa-writes

𑣲 love bites I @/nyxvuxoa-writes

𑣲 smut request I @tangerinesgf

𑣲 nonfan!reader I @/tangerinesgf

𑣲 the lucky one I @pretty-little-mind33

Tom books a role in a musical with the only one goal in mind. He wants to work with an actress he's been crushing on forever—you.

𑣲 anti-hero I @/pretty-little-mind33

You're Tom's makeup artist for a movie he's shooting and you absolutely hate him. However, one round of karaoke later, your feelings temporarily shift.

𑣲 i did something bad I @/pretty-little-mind33

When Tom Ryder cockily asks Colt if he can share you with him, your boyfriend is initially disgusted. You? You're less disgusted—

𑣲 the winner takes it all I @/pretty-little-mind33

You try and convince Tom Ryder that doing his own stunt out of the blue is a very very bad decision.

count alexi vronsky

𑣲 lover I @/pretty-little-mind33

Your husband comforts you on your period. 

multiple characters

𑣲 reader w/ an abusive ex hc I @/pretty-little-mind33

[tumblblabber]

Review: Rick and Morty #7 (2023)

Overview Despite saving the world from near catastrophe and doing away with hyper tech bro Glug Vronsky, Rick and Morty aren’t out of the woods just yet! The Goldenfolds, Noelle, and a host of weird gods have escaped Anti Hala, and they seem kinda mad at Rick for sending them there. Can Noelle truly forgive Rick and Morty?! Will the Goldenfolds take over the world?! Are we asking too many…

[allthecanadianpolitics]

News broke on July 17 that a war memorial honouring Ukrainian Nazis who served with the German SS recently had the phrase “Nazi war memorial” painted on it. These Nazis were part of the openly fascist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, in the 14th Volunteer Waffen-SS Grenadier Division (the Galicia Division). The Wiesenthal Center’s Canadian representative, Sol Littman, explained that this SS division largely comprised Ukrainians who served with Nazi police battalions and death squads.  

They committed many massacres and crimes against humanity, including the Huta Pieniacka murder of 850 to 900 citizens of Polish descent. The Halton Regional Police were originally investigating the incident as a “hate crime,” but were forced to change the description of the incident to “vandalism.”

Ukranian Nazi collaborators: From working for the Nazis, to crushing the insurgent Canadian left in the 1950s

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists was founded in 1929. Its fascist and openly anti-Semitic ideology was that Jews and Russian-speaking citizens must be removed from Ukrainian society at any cost. They enthusiastically collaborated with Nazi Germany in the 1940s to exterminate Jews, Russians, and anyone who attempted to protect them. The OUN was only forced out of Ukraine after the USSR took control of the country, upon the end of the Second World War.

The Ukrainian fascists found new homes in Canada, where the ideology of anti-communism was extremely potent. Peter Vronsky, a former documentary Director at the National Film board revealed that:

“a little known US-financed group in Canada called the "Canadian Christian Council for the Resettlement of Refugees" privately lobbied the Canadian government in the 1950s to admit former Nazi Waffen-SS 'foreign legion volunteers' like the Moslem Bosnian-Albanian Nazi SS troopers, Ukrainian SS volunteers, and others, to come to Sudbury wholesale to work in the mines.”

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

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30. Oktober 2020 / 1 Std. 56 Min. / Krimi, Action, Drama Von Olivier Marchal Mit Lannick Gautry, Stanislas Merhar, Kaaris Produktionsland Frankreich

INHALTSANGABE

Marseille: Alles beginnt mit einem Gemetzel, das von den Männern des Orsoni-Clans verursacht wurde. Der unorthodoxe Polizist Richard Vronski (Lannick Gautry) ist für die Ermittlungen verantwortlich und sieht sich seinen Rivalen der BRB gegenüber, die von Costa (Moussa Maaskri), einem Polizeimajor, angeführt werden. Ein neuer Direktor, Divisionskommissar Ange Leonetti (Jean Reno), kommt, um Marseille aufzuräumen und die verrückten Hunde in seinem Team zu bändigen. Aber alle werden bald erkennen, dass sie nichts ohne Opfer oder Risikobereitschaft bekommen. Besonders als die Tochter des Kommissars mit der Anti-Bande aneinandergerät, wonach die Männer der nördlichen Städte die Korsiker angreifen, ein wichtiger Zeuge in Polizeigewahrsam ermordet wird und die Polizei seinen härtesten Agenten schickt. Also werden Vronski und seine Männer geschickt, um ihre Haut zu retten ...

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Hier finden Sie alle Fernsehserien und Filme, die Sie online streamen können, einschließlich der heute ausgestrahlten Serien. Wenn Sie sich fragen, was Sie auf dieser Website sehen können, sollten Sie wissen, dass es sich um Genres handelt, zu denen Krimi-, Drama-, Mystery-, Action- und Abenteuerserien sowie Shows gehören. Vielen Dank. Wir sagen allen, die uns gerne als Nachrichten oder Informationen über den Programmplan der Staffel, die Folgen und wie Sie Ihre Lieblingsfernsehshows sehen, akzeptieren. Hoffentlich können wir der beste Partner für Sie sein, um Empfehlungen für eine Fernsehsendung aus verschiedenen Ländern der Welt zu finden. Das ist alles von uns, Grüße!

[holden-woods]

here comes st etienne’s resident PRE-MED major, HOLDEN WOODS ! the TWENTY-ONE year old CISMALE looks just like NOAH CENTINEO, and the JUNIOR is known to be HUMOROUS & GREGARIOUS despite also being HAUGHTY & BRAZEN. you can find them in VILLA001 of ROSENDALE VILLAGE, or hanging out with other FOOTBALL & ROW members. just watch out for them, rumour has it that daisey knew something about them you wouldn’t believe…)

its ya GIRL MAARIA, back at it again at krispy kreme with another character lmao.

background !

holden was born in brooklyn nyc, and spent the first 9 years of his life there. 

holden is the son of a wealthy attorney, who’s known for basically being in with the mafia. he’s their go-to dude when anyone’s in a sticky trial. he’s moved to CT and has “retired” but he’s got his ties, and still keeps after them. his mother, is a stay-at-home mom who babies the shit out of him, and he’d die for his mom tbh. 

he has two identical twin sisters who are the lights of his lives, they’re always the screen saver on his phone :0) 

he’s libby cousin bc i said so, how else would they know this much random shit abt one another. his mother is the identical twin sister of her mother, so they just.... over glorified siblings to an extent

has gotten into a lot of trouble in his youth, which has greatly strained his relationship with his father who is massively disappointed in his son’s decisions. at first, holden attempted to reconcile with him, but now has lost sight of this, and tries to piss his dad off even MORE. can you say daddy issues? 

current !

wants to be pediatrician. he adores lil babies and is v gentle and caring on the inside. he’s not the smartest bulb in the chandelier but he tries so hard to meet his grade requirements.

since having his heart broken, is a total thot. uses partying and lots of beer to mask his vulnerability and need to be loved 

is on the football team, and is always *fergie voice* workin’ on his fitness

gets into lots of fist fights bc he can’t control his rage most of the time lol… will come for you if you say some rude shit abt his friends, family, or speak disrespectfully towards women in front of him

LOVES AMERICAN LITERATURE, but has he read Catcher? lmao, big fat NOPE

his favorite book is the things they carried by tim o’brien. it makes him cry a lot. mention it to unlock lvl 80 emotional holden

actually everything makes him cry a lot, he’s very sensitive! he just wants everything to be less harsh on his soul ): fakes like he’s not the softest bc he he’s trapped in an anti-feminine male society lol

shy but pretends to be extraverted bc he thinks that’s what people expect him to be bc he fits the whole “dude bro” life style

also pretends to be a dick, but is... actually a kind bean, and is compassionate 

seems like a dumb jock, but is actually very bright when you converse with him! writes incredibly well, and does fantastically in math and science. his history could use a lot of work tho… and he’s hopeless in his language classes lol

can, and will quote dozens of vines in each conversation. this man cannot be stopped, i am so sorry for him

  surrounds himself with people he finds funny, attractive, or compassionate or else he turns back into a pile of ash at minute. 

based off of !

chandler bing, fox mulder, mercutio, edmund pevensie, alexei vronsky, veronica sawyer, linguine (rataouille), ben wyatt, gob bluth, andy dywer, ron weasley, simba.

connections !

i’m basically down for anything drama inducing just hmu

i’ll have a real page up sometime.... soon fskdsldkf

[codename-fugue]

[ task : relationships (june 1963) ]

:// the historian → vald

Mortimer finds Vald an incredibly stress-free person to be around. He does worry about Vald’s safety on their missions, but nonetheless he’s glad the historian is around -- when he has an evening free, one of his new favorite ways to spend it is with a cup of tea, a good book, and Vald to bounce literature theory off of. So far, Vald is one of the very few people on the team that Mortimer can sit in comfortable silence with, and, as a bonus, he finds just about everything Vald had to say incredibly interesting.

:// the informant → hyunjin

Plain and simple: Mortimer thinks Hyunjin shouldn’t be on the team. He finds her company pleasant enough -- more pleasant than he was expecting, actually -- but as far as vital specialized skills go, he thinks she should have communicated her knowledge to the CIA and left it at that. She’s a risk to the entire team, and he hates it. And that’s not even going into his irritated jealousy over her easy way with people, her gentle demeanor, and her curiosity. The more he interacts with her, the less he dislikes her, and that annoys him.

:// the driver → nila

Nila, in Mortimer’s opinion, is the epitome of Cool. Sure, they’re more reckless than they should be, and they don’t seem to take the job as seriously as they should, but there’s just something about Nila that Mortimer can’t help but think is... well, really cool. Maybe it’s their irreverent attitude, or the way they dress, or the way Nila is wholeheartedly, unapologetically themself. And there’s a large part of Mortimer that envies that.

:// the combatant → levi

The absolute last thing on Mortimer’s mind when he signed up for CODA was the possibility that he’d actually be interested in one of them. It doesn’t exactly happen often. But it happened. Levi is something of an enigma, and Mortimer always did love a puzzle. It doesn’t hurt that Levi’s incredibly easy on the eyes, willing to put up with him for more than five minutes, and easy to trust. Currently, Mortimer is desperately trying to tell himself that he’s totally cool with staying friends with Levi, even though his affection for Levi grows a little more every time they meet.

:// the manipulator → harper

Mortimer finds Harper somewhat intimidating. It’s not that he thinks Harper is a secret serial killer that’s about to turn on them all, but he just doesn’t understand how someone can be that good at people. Harper always seems to know what to say, and when to say it, and that kind of skill baffles Mortimer. He understands Harper is a vital part of the team, but still, for now, he’d prefer to keep his wary, confused distance.

:// the thief → bobby

Mortimer isn’t quite sure what to make of Bobby. He can empathize with the anti-authority attitude -- he has a little bit of that himself -- but he’s not thrilled with the way Bobby seems to be jockeying for the position of team leader. In Mortimer’s opinion, though he thinks Bobby is skilled, he’d be a poor fit for leader.

:// the sleeper agent → lena

Lena confuses the hell out of Mortimer. He kind of likes her, but he kind of hates her at the same time. He can see why she made it onto the team, but the apparent gaps in her knowledge baffle him -- and though he finds it relatively easy to spend time with her, he can’t shake the feeling that she’s a lot more than she lets on, and that makes him uneasy. She’s just a little too perfectly presented, a little too friendly, and he’s not sure what to make of it.

:// the weapons expert → eden

Mortimer has a considerable amount of respect for Eden -- anybody who designs interesting weapons for the CIA is worth a bit of respect -- and he can relate to him as an engineer who views their creations as near and dear to their heart. But Eden’s somewhat irreverent behavior makes him worry a little for the safety of the team, and he dreads to think what might happen if Eden decides to do his own thing in the middle of a mission.

:// the codebreaker → henry

If thoughts could be x-rayed and examined, Mortimer would love to do that to Henry’s brain. Henry has a talent for patterns that Mortimer doesn’t have, and he finds it fascinating to watch the codebreaker in action. He looks up to Henry in a way, but gets especially riled if Henry ever points out that he did something wrong, more so than if anybody else does it, and he’s not entirely sure why. 

:// the assassin → klara

Klara is one of the easiest team members to spend time with, Mortimer finds, even if her job does make him... somewhat uneasy. He does his best to put that out of his mind when they spend time together, though, and he’s come to be grateful for their occasional 3AM-soap-fest. She’s remarkably stress-free to be around, and he thinks she’s an enormous asset to the team.

:// the fabricator → sam

Mortimer has enormous respect for Sam’s talents, and he admires the way Sam is just able to put his head down and work, and not come up for air for hours. And, as a fellow socially awkward person, Mortimer finds Sam ironically easy to be around, as if their mutual awkwardness just sort of cancels each other out.

Do they suspect anyone of being a double agent? So far, no. But there are a couple of people who wouldn’t surprise him if they turned out to be double agents -- Harper and Lena in particular. 

What do they believe happened to Agent Thursday? Mortimer wishes it were a random act of crime, but he knows it’s not. Right now he’s trending toward either a connection of Vronsky’s, or a turncoat in one the alphabet agencies that are aware of what CODA is attempting to do.

[holdenwoods]

is that NOAH CENTINEO i see sitting in the quad? no, it’s just HOLDEN WOOD, the EIGHTEEN year old CISMALE. they’re a SENIOR, and i usually see them doing LACROSSE (CAPTAIN) and TRACK. everyone around here calls them the THE PARADOX which makes sense because they’re so SPIRITED and CHARMING but also VINDICTIVE and INSECURE. guess we’ll have to see if mpexposed digs up any dirt about them. (maaaaaaaria / 22 / est / she/her)

y’all already know me so onto holden lol

basic facts !

oldest child of a wealthy real estate investor and contract lawyer. has two younger sisters who are twins and are only seven that holden would legit die for. he loves being an older brother sm ok 

he’s libby cousin bc i said so

a lax bro, and shamelessly proud of this, gross. LAX GANG OR DIE WHERE U @ 

wants to be pediatrician. he adores lil babies and is v gentle and caring on he inside

gets into lots of fist fights bc he can’t control his rage most of the time lol... will come for you if you say some rude shit abt his friends, family, or speak disrespectfully towards women in front of him

LOVES AMERICAN LITERATURE, can quote fitzgerald like no one’s business

fuck im realizing hes just jay gatsby. gr8 now someones gonna shoot him in the pool at a house party. ok moving on tho

his favorite book is the things they carried by tim o’brien. it makes him cry a lot

actually everything makes him cry a lot, he’s very sensitive! he just wants everything to be less harsh on his soul ): fakes like he’s not the softest bc he he’s trapped in an anti-feminine male society lol

WANTS TO SLOW DANCE W/ U PROBABLY

shy but pretends to be extraverted bc he thinks that’s what people expect him to be

also pretends to be a dick

smokes bc it smells like his dad and makes him feel like a grown up. what a dick.

seems like a dumb jock, but is actually very bright! writes incredibly well, and does fantastically in math and science. his history could use a lot of work tho... and he’s hopeless in his language classes lol

honestly just wants to be loved, since he falls in love with everyone who he thinks has a good heart 

based off of ! 

chandler bing, fox mulder, mercutio, edmund pevensie, alexei vronsky, veronica sawyer, linguine (rataouille), ben wyatt

connections !

i’m basically down for anything drama inducing just hmu

[drxeric-blog]

Anna Karenina (2012) Film Review

TL;DR: Skip it (unless you are aching to see a dysfunctional film adaption); 4/10.

Background

Unlike my previous review, this one is taking us back to a film from a few years ago.

I hold a lot of value for reading a book before watching it's adaption, but unfortunately that doesn't happen nearly often enough with me—especially when the book is made of EIGHT substantial parts (!)—as is the case with Anna Karenina. It's a sizable book, and one I would  still love to read. I've also not seen any of the other film adaptions of this story.

Anna Karenina traces the love lives of two characters, Anna and Levin, wherein Anna is the more prominent protagonist. The story shows Anna trying—poorly—to navigate an extra-marital affair (with Vronsky) and the aftermath, while Levin experiences failure, but still holds hope, in his desire to marry the girl of his dreams (Kitty). The theme of the story is broadly love and infidelity. A large number of family and friends are intricately involved with the complicated processes for better and for worse.

Other than this, the following review is spoiler free. As will be the norm with my reviews, I've organized it into Pros/Cons/Mixed then summarized my thoughts and rating at the end.

I should also make a little disclaimer of sorts: I was seriously thinking of seeing Coco in the theater for the first time instead of Anna Karenina (on Netflix), but as the Knight of the Holy Grail said, "He choose poorly." Hopefully this error will be rectified soon. :)

Pros

THE KARENINS Alexei Karenin (Jude Law) and Anna Karenina (Kiera Knightly) had a perfect "anti-chemistry" for lack of a better term. I could hardly remember that it was Jude Law playing the bookish, hardline, and exacting Karenin against Kiera's free-spirited Anna. They did very well expressing the hard conflicts arising over their tragic predicaments.

LEVIN AND KITTY Konstantin Levin (Domhnall Gleeson) and Ekaterina "Kitty" Shcherbatskaya (Alicia Vikander) were very good. They had a strong chemistry, such that I can understand why they were chosen to work together again in Ex Machina. Levin was a good, sympathetic character and Kitty's kindly, doll-like youth was perfectly embodied by Vikander.

(It makes me all the more annoyed seeing Gleeson nail a wonderful, serious role that The Last Jedi went and threw his General Hux into the dust-bin of total caricature. But I digress—that is for a later date!)

OTHER CAST Most (save one) of the other casting choices were pretty well done, and the actors executed their given roles effectively, as far as I could tell.

Cons

It's tricky to separate where this film goes wrong because each issue is interconnected with the others.

ADAPTION Overall, I don't understand at all what the film makers were trying to do with this film. I don't get numerous things: Why was the tone so strange? Why were there so many scene transitions with mixed continuity where it felt like the audience is just being rushed about? Why did they have to take the religious aspects of the story so flippantly when Tolstoy was very sincere in his writing about such matters? What were the film-makers really trying to say about the toxic way marriage was enforced socially at that time? What was with the characters randomly showing up on actual stages here and there throughout the movie? (Was it some kind of allegorical device? If so, it didn't work very well.) The film sends very mixed and ambiguous signals; something I suspect the original story is more clear on.

In a story that is about the topics of love and infidelity I couldn't figure at all what kind of perspectives this film was trying to suggest.

VRONSKY The one acting choice which I don't understand was for Alexei Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). He and Kiera didn't mesh very well. He was stiff and lacked warmth. It was impossible to understand why Anna would go out of her way to be with him.

CONNECTION But that also leads to the issue of how we have no time, nor does the framing of the film allow us, to become emotionally invested in any particular characters. I felt very little for Anna's anguish, Karenin's conundrums, and Levin's lovesickness. It all just happened, and it was awkward for people, and that's that. As part of the problem, there was poor buildup and foreshadowing with things just moving along.

VISUAL/AUDIO AESTHETICS Also interfering with empathy was the framing of the story itself in the visual experience. While there are some scenes which are beautiful both visually and auditory, there were so many scenes which where quite the opposite and, as far as I could tell, needlessly so. It was bad enough in several scenes that the visual/audio experience was like staring at a chalk board while someone slowly screeched their fingernails along it.

I think the film makers went more for spectacle and less for depth. Lots of flashiness, or running around, or gritty stuff, but few scenes getting the audience to connect. Also, this general framing issue made the film visually confusing.

Mixed

OBLONSKY Stepan "Stiva" Oblonsky (Matthew McFadden) was a bit odd to me. It was cool to see McFadden take on a VERY different role from his somber Mr. Darcy. I liked Stiva a fair bit, but I feel like they made him over-the-top in a comedic way that didn't entirely work.

LEVIN'S SECONDARY PLOT For a 2 hour adaption of such a large story, we really don't get enough depth with either of the two main love stories. I see how they couldn't really cut out the Levin plot, but the film felt fragmented with going back and forth to the nearly independent secondary love story. This story line does not work harmoniously enough off the central Anna plot for it to enhance the story the way it's probably meant to. Levin's arc, though, has to stay in to show an example of true love, and it would be an admirable example if it had been executed better.

R-RATING I find it strange that Anna Karenina got an R rating. The portrayal of the violent deaths of two characters seemed basically PG-13; the same holds for the sex scenes, and the drug use was understated enough. "Language" wasn't an issue at all. I guess it was just the totality of all three things, but to me this was a PG-13 film.

Summary

I suspect that this story is WAY more than what came across on screen: A dystopian Jane Austen novel with a Scarlet Letter theme set in Imperial Russia. But Anna Karenina was itself a genre defining work, yet this film does not make the story seem groundbreaking at all!

I was hoping to at least _like_ the movie and maybe it'd get a 6/10. After all, I was forewarned that it was confusing. Honestly, it wasn't THAT confusing, though, but it was very unenjoyable and uncompelling. It's fairly rare that I can say that I did not like a movie. How a film can take a great cast and a classic story, and make something this bad is beyond me!

For it's overall effect, I'd almost stoop so low as to give it a 2/10, but it is rescued to a generous 4/10 by the top-notch character delivery by high-caliber actors.

Unless you are begging to see another Kiera Knightly movie or are required to watch an example of a poorly executed film adaption, don't waste your time with Anna Karenina 2012.