A Major Part of the Story is Missing.

Rating: 6/10 (1 April 2016)

Honestly, this movie made me feel like I was wandering the Russian tundra.
Anyway, I was initially excited to finally see this movie. However, by the time it got to the intermission, I debated giving up on it. The biggest problem with the whole script, the reason why the movie lacks any drive, any momentum, any tension, is because the heart of the story is missing. Dr. Zhivago's marriage to Tonya is one of love and friendship but she's supposedly not his true love. Then, Zhivago spends 6 months with the gorgeous Lara and falls in love. However, the movie skips from him arriving at his post and seeing Lara again to him leaving and them already in love. We don't see their relationship grow, develop, unfold. It's a gaping hole in the middle of the movie. On top of that, their affair is purely emotional at this point and not physical which if we saw their relationship develop, it would actually build tension. Their love story was critical to, at least, my emotional involvement in the plot. Without seeing what was so enthralling about Lara, you kind of feel like what was he missing from the pretty and sweet Tonya?
There are parts of the movie worthy praise especially on a technical front. However, the movie was ultimately long and boring.