Preceeding the Film4 promo clip, director Joe Wright explains that the production utilized a rundown theater for the entirety of the shoot, with over 100 interconnected sets build for use in the film, and boy does he ever make the most of the it. This sequence moves with a fluidity we don't get all that often, running from a beautiful ballroom -- with a ceiling that opens to show a fireworks display, in a particularly great shot -- and ending in Anna's chambers, where she has a bracing conversation with Alexei. There is a sort of great theatricality and decadence both in performances and visually that you'll either roll with...or won't...but it really, really worked for this writer. It feels like one of the great costume dramas of yore, but with a interesting contemporary flavor and approach. And the performances from Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson are compelling, even as the tones shift throughout this clip.
Give it a spin below. "Anna Karenina" opens in the U.K. on September 7th and in the U.S. on November 9th.
