An hour ago I spoke to the seriously hardcore Joe Wright, director of the form-breaking Anna Karenina, at Toronto’s Park Hyatt. I haven’t time to tap out a piece, but rather than describe Karenina as “a musical without songs,” as I put it, Wright called it something closer to “a ballet with words.” He also felt that the influence of Powell-Pressberger (particularly The Red Shoes) was stronger than that of Ken Russell, an association I thought of immediately when I saw the film yesterday afternoon.
Anna Karenina director Joe Wright — Park Hyatt, 14th floor, 9.7, 1:50 pm.
