Keira Knightley as 'Anna Karenina' in a Film for the Stage

ONE of literature’s most adapted works is LeoTolstoy’s “Anna Karenina.” There have been countless ballets, stage productions, films and made-for-TV movies.

The latest film version, Anna Karenina, features Keira Knightley in the role of Tolstoy’s tragic heroine. The film is directed by KK collaborator Joe Wright from an adaptation by Tom Stoppard.

"Anna Karenina" continues its months-long (through 2 May 2013) rollout across the world after premiering in Toronto in September. It opens today in Taiwan and in limited release in the United States. (See trailer above.)

Because this fine work about a wayward wife in image-conscious, high-society Tsarist Russia has been done ad nauseam, JW decided to do things a tad differently. Most of the drama among Anna, her husband Karenin (Jude Law), calvary officer Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and others in their cloistered St. Petersburg milieu takes place on the stage – in an actual theater.

Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Keira Knightley) in a stolen moment in "Anna Karenina." Photos courtesy of Focus Features.

The director reached this decision after making an observation about these characters in late 19th-century Russia before the arrival of Napoleon’s forces.

Ironically, the Russians admired French high society and endeavored to emulate it in almost every way. This propensity is particularly striking in Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” in which much stock is placed on speaking French perfectly (which was the language of choice in the various salons) and having the latest fashions, food and flatware from France.

“Anna Karenina,” which arrived in a serialized version over several years after the publication of the former work, can almost be considered a condensed version of it without the threat and ravages of war. Tolstoy is hoeing the same rows

In any case, “Anna Karenina” director JW observed that these denizens of St. Petersburg and other fashionable cities in the fatherland – but St. Petersburg in particular – lived their lives as if they were on a stage, as if they were characters in a grand play. And so on the stage a good deal of “Anna Karenina” is set, including a horse race. One wonders how many takes were involved in getting just the right shot. Unfolding the action on stage is, of course, a little gimmicky but it actually works.

Passion drives Anna (Keira Knightley) to break with convention in "Anna Karenina."

KK, a wisp of a performer – she was a teenager – when she starred in “Bend it Like Beckham” and later joined the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, has blossomed into an actor with a capital A. She was delightful in “Pride and Prejudice;” righteously determined in “Atonement.” Hers was a riveting, if not occasionally over-the-top turn in “A Dangerous Method” last year.

In “Anna Karenina,” KK is required to keep her emotions rather more in check. She does so admirably. It is her film to carry and she bears it well.

Anna Karenina is rated R (for some sexuality and violence). Visit http://www.focusfeatures.com/Anna_Karenina to learn more about “Anna Karenina.”

In ‘Arcadia,’ Uncovering and Discovering One’s Past

Billy Crudup, Lia Williams, Raul Esparza and Grace Gummer at the Coverly Estate circa 1993 in "Arcadia." Photos by Carol Rosegg.

BY TAMARA BECK

TOM Stoppard is nimbly erudite. In “Arcadia” he sets up two worlds, about a century apart, both located in the same idyllic setting.


The modern-day inhabitants of the Coverly Estate take a fly at understanding their predecessors. Most of their historic guess work misses its mark. Some of their speculations on the past are dead on or close enough to uncover some of the brilliant and astounding activities that occurred there in 1809. (See the video at http://www.arcadiabroadway.com/video#bodycopy)

Lady Croom (Margaret Colin) has a garden that needs cultivating in "Arcadia.

The grand house and its mangled gardens are the main characters in TS’s challenging comedy. The players stumble about, often getting their feet wet in the poorly drained and unseen outdoors. “Arcadia,” in revival at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre through 19 June, is interesting, intricate and funny.

In 1809 the aristocratic residents, particularly the doyenne Lady Croom (Margaret Colin), hired architect Richard Noakes (Byron Jennings) to redesign the gardens into a representation of the rustic so stylish at the time. The romantic Noakes installed a hermitage on the grounds.

The sighting of the hermit attracts Hannah Jarvis (Lia Williams) to explore the mysteries of Coverly. Hannah, a 20th century historian, finds herself outmaneuvered by Bernard Nightingale (Billy Crudup), a rival who discovers a Lord Byron connection to the family and the estate.

The realities of “Arcadia” rest with its dualities. It is about witty intellectuals and scholars who jump to conclusions. It is also about Septimus Hodge (Tom Riley), the sexy tutor who instructs precocious Thomasina Coverly (Bel Powley) with a detour into the fashions of the picturesque. For her part, Thomasina leaves her ancestor Valentine Coverly (Raul Esparza) – a mathematician and genius in his own right – a legacy of mathematical theories that astound him.

Thomasina Coverly (Bel Powley) is the very bright student of Septimus Hodge (Tom Riley) in Arcadia.

The complexity of “Arcadia” in no way diminishes the enjoyment a visit to the Coverly Estate in Derbyshire offers.

Among the large and expert cast are the fabulous BJ and the gifted, versatile RE. In fact, everyone gives an excellent performance. Yet, with all the brilliant luminaries in this production, it is a young newcomer, BP, who steals the show.

Visit http://www.arcadiabroadway.com/ for more information about “Arcadia.”