Claim: Aaron Taylor-Johnson starred in a film.

Anna Karenina is a 2012 British historical romance film directed by Joe Wright . Adapted by Tom Stoppard from Leo Tolstoy 's 1877 novel of the same name , the film depicts the tragedy of Russian aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina , wife of senior statesman Alexei Karenin , and her affair with the affluent officer Count Vronsky which leads to her ultimate demise . Keira Knightley stars in the lead role as Karenina , marking her third collaboration with Wright following both Pride & Prejudice -LRB- 2005 -RRB- and Atonement -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , while Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson appear as Karenin and Vronsky , respectively . Matthew Macfadyen , Kelly Macdonald , Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander appear in key supporting roles .   Produced by Working Title Films in association with StudioCanal , the film premiered at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival . It was released on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and on 9 November 2012 in the United States . Anna Karenina earned a worldwide gross of approximately $ 69 million , mostly from its international run . It earned a rating of 64 percent from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , labelling it generally favourable . Critics praised the cast , but commented on and criticised the heavily stylised adaptation , and were less enthusiastic with Wright 's preference for style over substance and his idea of setting most of the action on a theatre stage .   It earned four nominations at the 85th Academy Awards and six nominations at the 66th British Academy Film Awards , winning Jacqueline Durran both prizes for Best Costume Design . In addition , Anna Karenina garnered six nominations at the 17th Satellite Awards , including a Best Actress nod for Knightley and Best Adapted Screenplay for Stoppard .