After several months of rumours and glimpses, we finally have the first full length trailer for Joe Wright’s new project ANNA KARENINA. Having already taken PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and ATONEMENT from page to screen, we wouldn’t expect anything less from the director and it looks like he hasn’t cut back on this one.
Wright’s muse, Keira Knightley (who has featured in both previous adaptations), stars as Anna Karenina, a lady who marries the wealthy and saintly Alexei Karenin (played by Jude Law). However, as the reality of her lifeless marriage hits her in the face, she starts to search for a better life behind her husband’s back. While on the look out, she meets the blonde-moustached Count Vronsky (Aaron Johnson) who shows her what she could have if she left her rather comfortable life behind. As the tale unfolds, wires get crossed and tales unravel as Anna falls deeper and deeper into her complicated affair, angering not only her husband but the society she associates with. Matthew Macfadyen, Olivia Williams, Alicia Vikander, Kelly Macdonald, Domhnall Gleeson, Michelle Dockery, Ruth Wilson and Tannishtha Chatterjee star alongside Knightley, Law and Johnson, rounding off a British-heavy cast.
With such a decadent-looking poster and intense trailer, Wright has definitely stepped up his game since his last exploit in adaptation. Also note that this time around he has hired playwright Tom Stoppard as screenwriter. Stoppard has previously worked on THE GOLDEN COMPASS (2005) and SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998), proving he is suitably skilled to take on such a massive story.
ANNA KARENINA, directed by Joe Wright, is set for a UK release from 7th September 2012.
