War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy is a staple amongst high school and university students. Just like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Richard the Third or ‘the Scottish Play’ *khem* is as epic and discusses the power hungry might of men, it mixes in the personal lives of everyday people in the various classes that make up Russia.
The 2016 BBC version starring Paul Dano, James Norton, Lily James, Tuppence Middleton and Greta Scacchi was a visual masterpiece. In particular, the battle scenes are exceptional. There was no romanticism in the battles between Napoleon and Russia. There was carnage, disease, limbs lost and madness afterwards. Perhaps something similar, but not as visually and tastefully stunning, could be Saving Private Ryan’s depictions of war.
I have seen other critics discuss the issue of Lily James in the role of Natasha Rostova and how the entire story hinged on whether the portrayal was likable and convincing enough. I would say that it was decent. The only time I found her unconvincing is when she attempts to run off with Callum Turner‘s character Anatole Kuragin. I am not sure how much I believed Lily’s Natasha loved James Norton’s character Prince Andrei Bolkonsky either. This is probably because it was obvious from the start that Natasha was in love with Piere. And yet, by the end, after all the horror and heartbreaks I felt — was not believable enough in saying she loved Pierre (I will explain why further down). So, perhaps, Lily James’s portrayal of Natasha was not so convincing?
Also, why was Gillian Anderson, who plays Anna Pavlovna Scherer, there at all? The minor scenes to move certain moments in the narrative along, such as Helene Bezukhova , played by Tuppence Middleton, becoming pregnant by her lover and being cast out of society, then dying of an attempted abortion, was needed but at other times the St. Peterburg society interactions were pointless to the rest of the story. They could have been edited out, so too could the hair and make-up for Gillian’s character. The styling there had gone a little array but you could forgive the designers due to the splendor of the rest of the film. As I mentioned before, it was clear that most of the money was spent on location shooting and the war scenes–which definitely payed off in the long run because W&P needs that kind of attention.
However, despite all of this it takes some good cinematography, editing and at least 2 amazing performances to carry the story along and Paul Dano was captivating as Pierre Bezukhov. He is such an outstanding Pierre! He is an amazing actor (he has his directorial debut with Wildlife 2018). It was also James Norton’s character who really annoyed me in his version of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. His need for glory and to die because he is bored with the frivolity of society is so infuriating it is good. So, for that I can say ace job Norton! I also enjoyed Mathieu Kassovitz as Russian’ enemy, Napoleon.
I can say this version of War & Peace has been better than others and the storyline was easier to follow. It is hard to make Natasha Rostova‘s love for Pierre Bezukhov believable after her love for Andrei & and I did feel the ending was a tad contrived. But, perhaps, this is how it felt in the book. Or perhaps it was too quick of a conclusion based on the effort made to provide details for the rest of the story? It should be an enjoyable watch regardless.
ART IN LIFE 