Poor Anna Karenina (Knightley). One minute she seems to have everything: a worthy but boring husband Karenin (Law), an excellent range of furry hats and – in stark contrast to her troubled sister in law (Kelly MacDonald), one of the happiest family lives in 1870s imperial Russia. Or so it seems. But beneath the surface all is not well. Within the space of a few scenes, her life is thrown into chaos by the prospect of an extremely dangerous liaison with dashing young cavalry officer Count Vronsky (Taylor-Johnson). Soon she can barely pop down to the theatre without people tutting or waving their fans disapprovingly at her.

If this version of Tolstoy’s massive Russian novel sounds dull, then fear not: it isn’t. If anything it’s a bit too lively at first. Director Joe Wright’s odd decision to base much of the action within the set of a theatre makes it all seem a bit odd and Moulin Rouge-esque at first: sort of like a musical but without the music. It’s a relief when the story gets going and things start to settle down.

It’s also not all as gloomy as it might sound. Lighter notes are provided by Anna’s buffoonish skirt-chasing brother Oblonsky (Macfadyen) and there’s also a touching love story between farm-obsessed beardie Levin and a local beauty. Johnson does a fine job of condensing the epic novel into a watchable two hours (or so) of viewing.

But the real revelation here is that after years of well justified doubts about her performances, Keira Knightley finally proves once and for all: she really can act.

Anna Karenina

Out: now. Director: Joe Wright. Cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Length: 130 minutes. Rating: 12A

Rating: four out of five.

Reviewer: Chris Hallam