I have never written a film review or offered an opinion on any site, but this movie drove me to it. Taking liberties with a great classic for the sake of making it film-worthy is one thing, but this confused and confusing attempt wound up less than effective and an interminable bore to boot. The history is muddled, the opulent costumes are not authentically of any period, let alone Russia of the time, and the scenery and stage sets add nothing but artifice to the overall effect. I won't attempt the wooden acting, or maybe that's the miserable direction, but the fictional yet palpable character of Anna Karenina has been wholly lost to some unrecognizable whim.