Director of Pride and Prejudice Reteams with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen in Anna Karenina

The remake of Anna Karenina, based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, packs a powerhouse punch. The film stars Keira Knightley as well as Aaron Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Kelly Macdonald, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Williams, and Emily Watson.

Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina

The film is:

The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with director Joe Wright, following the award-winning boxoffice successes “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement,” is the epic love story “Anna Karenina,” adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”).

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet

View some of the images of the film from Focus Features.

The Cast:

Keira Knightley
Anna Karenina

Aaron Johnson and Keira

Aaron Johnson
Vronsky

Jude Law and Keir

Jude Law
Karenin

Matthew Macfadyen as he looked during the time he
filmed Anna Karenina

Matthew Macfadyen
Oblonsky

Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy

Domhnall Gleeson
Levin

Alicia Vikander
Kitty

Kelly Macdonald
Dolly

Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre

Ruth Wilson
Princess Betsy Tverskoy

Olivia Williams as Jane Austen

Olivia Williams
Countess Vronsky

Emily Watson in Gosford Park

Emily Watson
Countess Lydia Ivanovna

Six Reasons for Janeites to Watch An Education

1. Because Carey Mulligan (Pride and Prejudice 2005) is said to be outstanding in this film. The role has made her a break-out star. Sensitive, clever, and intelligent films are few and far between. They save the film industry from catering primarily to young males, whose appetites for Transformers, Saw, and 2012 are insatiable.

2. Because Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility), the school's head mistress, is in it. 'Nuff said.

3. Because Olivia Williams (Emma, Miss Austen Regrets), who plays a teacher, is a beautiful and intelligent actress whose roles are few and far between.

4. Because Alfred Molina, the father, and Peter Sarsgaard, the older suitor, are always excellent.

5. Because Dominic Cooper (Sense and Sensibility, 2008) is becoming a reliable staple in good films.

6. Because Rosamund Pike's (Pride and Prejudice, 2005) appearances on the big screen, like Olivia Williams', are all too rare.

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

This weekend marks the sad anniversary of Jane Austen's death 192 years ago: which movie about her life do you prefer? The wildly romantic and inaccurate Becoming Jane or the more somber, speculative Miss Austen Regrets?

I Prefer This Film of Jane Austen's Life

Miss Austen Regrets: (From PBS Masterpiece Classic): Based on the life and letters of Jane Austen (Olivia Williams), Miss Austen Regrets tells the story of the novelist's final years, examining why, despite setting the standard for romantic fiction, she died having never married or met her own Mr. Darcy.

Becoming Jane: (From Wikipedia): Becoming Jane is a 2007 historical film inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway), and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy (James McAvoy). The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including BBC Films and the Irish Film Board.

pollcode.com free polls

I Prefer This Film of Jane Austen's Life

Miss Austen Regrets Becoming Jane

Seen on The Blogosphere

Dressing Jane is a fabulous free quarterly e-newsletter containing news and articles about fashion in the Jane Austen era from 1775-1817. Click here to see the first issue. The next one is slated to come out in summer.


A Georgian Garden Reborn discusses the function of the private Georgian garden. The one described in this article is located in Bath


The reviews for Miss Austen Regrets keep coming in from across The Pond. One article says this is a drama that depicts a different Jane Austen; and the review from BBC thought it a delicious feast for the senses. This article from the Times Online discusses Jane's acceptance then rejection of Mr. Harris Bigg-Wither's proposal.

Musings from a Muddy Island posted a sensitive, well thought out review that offers a mild and reasoned rebuke to bloggers like myself. The author thinks that by and large we Americans view Jane from an unrealistic and romantic perspective. She cautions us to read more English history and Jane biography. As a gentle reminder, some of us do. Please check Jane Austen's World, my other blog. Also, not all of us are enamored with movies like Becoming Jane, nor do we crave a happy ending.

While I thought this production was excellent and intelligently written, and Olivia's acting was sensitive and finely drawn, I still firmly believe that a woman at the height of her creativity, one whose earnings were supplementing her fixed income to the extent that Jane's were beginning to do, would not have dwelled so much and so morosely on the past. I would have preferred to see more balance, with scenes showing Jane actively writing and thinking about her novels and plots, interspersed with those moments of regret (which, yes, are realistic). This woman, who wrote such astonishing work until two months before her death, had a powerful creative urge that would not stop, yet one is barely provided a glimpse in this production of Jane's urgent and insistent will to write.

Posted by Ms. Place

Seen on the Blogosphere: Miss Austen Regrets

Reviews are starting to tumble in before BBC's broadcast of Miss Austen Regrets. In the past few days, The Daily Mail called Jane a serial flirt; the Manchester Evening News traced how Olivia Williams became Jane Austen; and The Independent offered up a biting commentary that will please as many as offend.

The London Paper adored this biopic, while several months back Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune found it barely watchable.

I had mixed feelings about the film, loving its intelligent dialog and solid acting, and hating its gloomy subtext and atmosphere. Read my review here: Miss Austen Regrets Perhaps A Bit Too Much For My Taste. Laurel Ann's review sits here. It is telling that of the five new films shown during The Complete Jane Austen season on PBS, viewers ranked this new adaptation second lowest in my likability poll. Mansfield Park ranked last, which was no surprise. I will leave the poll up for another month to let our cousins across The Pond vote. Perhaps the numbers will change.

Click here for Masterpiece pictures of Miss Austen Regrets; and click here for my photos of the film.

Read more about Olivia Williams in NW Magazine. Greta Scacchi, who plays Cassandra, received her own interview in this Times Online article, though I did not think it was flattering.

Find all of this blog's Miss Austen Regrets posts in this link.

Posted by Ms. Place