Now Showing: Anastasia

 

Anastasia

Genre: Adventure/Historical/Musical

Director: Bryce Dallas Howard

Writer: Walter McKnight

Based on the animated film

Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Harris Dickinson, Jim Carrey, Oliver Platt, Russell Brand, Julie Christie, Lucy Davis, Ioan Gruffudd, Radha Mitchell, Tinsley Price, Carol Kane

Plot: 1916. Rasputin (Jim Carrey) is banished from Russia by Tsar Nicholas II (Ioan Gruffudd) for treason. Rasputin leaves Russia in disgrace, settling in Paris, France, in a rundown, abandoned clock tower. Angered by Nicholas banishing him, Rasputin decides to go back to Russia and lead a revolution against the Russian royal family as revenge. Nicholas and his wife Alexandra (Radha Mitchell) throw a grand ball to celebrate the 300th year of Romanov rule in Russia. Nicholas' mother Empress Marie (Julie Christie) comes to the festivities. Marie gives her youngest granddaughter Anastasia (Tinsley Price) a music box and a necklace that says: Together in Paris. 

Rasputin returns to the palace during the ball. He reveals that he has sold his soul to the devil in order to be granted magical powers to kill the Romanovs, which are powered by an amulet. Nicholas demands that he leave, but Rasputin instead puts a curse on the family that they will all die, refusing to sleep until the entire Romanov bloodline is destroyed forever. Rasputin's revolutionaries, the Bolsheviks, charge through the gates of the royal palace, knocking down the statue of Nicholas II. The revolutionaries take Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra out into the courtyard. Marie insists to her grandchildren that they all must flee now if they are going to survive. Anastasia refuses to leave without her music box and goes to her bedroom to collect it. Bartok (Russell Brand), Rasputin's assistant, informs his boss that the daughter of Nicholas II is hiding away from the others. 

Anastasia runs away after fleeing through a window before Rasputin or any of his men can find her. As she runs away from the palace, she hears gunshots ring out. Deep down, Anastasia knows that the gunshots mean her family has been killed, but she keeps on running. Anastasia finds Marie and together they begin running away from the place across a frozen pond. Rasputin and Bartok manage to catch up to them though. Rasputin wants to catch them himself, but he falls through the ice and seemingly drowns, losing his amulet in the process. Anastasia and Marie eventually reach a moving train. Marie gets on as it moves and reaches out for Anastasia, but Anastasia trips and is knocked unconscious. Marie cries as the train leaves Anastasia behind.

Ten Years Later.

The entire Romanov royal family has been reported dead. Russia is now under communist rule. Empress Marie was forced to flee Russia and is now living in Paris, France. She has heard rumors that her granddaughter Anastasia survived the massacre and puts up a reward for her safe return. The news of the reward spreads throughout Europe until it reaches St. Petersburg, Russia, and catches the attention of petty con man Dmitri (Harris Dickinson) who brings the news to his mentor Vladimir (Oliver Platt). Together they come up with a plan to find a look-a-like Anastasia and hand her over to Marie in return for the reward being promised ("A Rumor in St. Petersburg").

Anastasia (Kiernan Shipka), now going by the name Anya, suffers from amnesia due to her head injury a decade earlier. She still wears the necklace her grandmother gave her every day. She is kicked out of the orphanage she has been living in due to aging out. The director of the orphanage, Phlegmenkoff (Carol Kane), tells Anya that she won't have to starve though as she has secured her a job at an old fish factory. Anya isn't sure if she should take the job though. She instead decides to go to St. Petersburg where she might find a family to love her ("Journey to the Past").

In St. Petersburg, Anya explores the city, eventually wandering into the abandoned Catherine's Palace. She begins having vivid flashbacks and memories of her family who appear as apparitions. She imagines herself dancing with her mother and father ("Once Upon a December"). Her reminiscing is interrupted by the arrival of Dmitri and Vladimir in the palace as well. They notice how much she looks like the Grand Duchess and realize that even if the girl isn't the real Anastasia, she'll be close enough to make their plan work. Vladimir tells Dmitri to use his charm to get her to agree. Dmitri convinces Anya to come with them to Paris to see Empress Marie to find out if she really is related to them, but Dmitri doesn't tell her about the reward money.

Rasputin is revealed to still be alive - sort of. For the last 10 years he has been living in an underground lair as a rotting corpse, cursed to keep rotting away until he kills Anastasia ("In the Dark of the Night"). Bartok arrives and tells him the rumors of Anastasia still being alive in St. Petersburg. Bartok also gives Rasputin his old amulet, apparently giving Rasputin back his magical powers. Rasputin immediately summons several small demonic creatures to track down and kill Anastasia once and for all.

Anya, Dmitri and Vladimir board a train headed west. Rasputin's minions attack the train, causing it to begin to come off the rails. The train car begins rocking uncontrollably. Anya says she has a bad feeling and jumps from the train. Dmitri and Vladimir follow. Not long after they jump, the train crashes in a big explosion. The three then decide to go the rest of the way by ship. While on deck of the ship, Dmitri and Vladimir give Anya a crash course on how to act like a royal, with Vladimir mentioning that he once worked in the royal palace as a younger man. Vladimir teaches Anya several historical facts about the family - making Anya answer his quizzes while balancing a book on her head ("Learn to Do It").

In the middle of the night, Anya gets out of bed on the ship. She sleepwalks onto the deck of the ship. She is compelled by Rasputin's minions toward the edge. Dmitri arrives just in time and grabs her, stopping her from falling overboard. Anya wakes up in Dmitri's arms. They gaze into each other's eyes and she thanks him for saving him. Dmitri jokes that he was just paying her back for getting them off that train before it crashed.

Rasputin, frustrated at the failure of his minions, takes out his anger on Batrok. Rasputin then says that he is going to have to do everything himself and tells Batrok to secure them passage to Paris.

In Paris, Marie is shown a long line of potential Anastasia's, but she quickly knows none of them are her granddaughter. She calls off the search, now believing that Anastasia must have been killed after all. The ship arrives in Paris in the morning. Vladimir guides Dmitri and Anya through the city, having visited many times before the wars. Dmitri and Anya are in awe of the Eiffel Tower. They go to see Sophie Slovslayevna Smovorkof Smirnov (Lucy Davis), a distant cousin of the Romanovs, to try to arrange a time to meet with Empress Marie. Sophie breaks the news that Marie has decided to no longer meet with any more Anastasias. But after a short while, Sophie begins to suspect that Anya really may be the real Anastasia and decides to help. Sophie also invites the group to see the Russian Ballet perform ("Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart)"). Vladimir insists on sitting next to Sophie, having developed a crush on her.

After the ballet, Dmitri goes to the house of Empress Marie, with Anya secretly following him. He pleads with Marie to meet Anya. He confesses that when he first met her, he was just looking for someone who looked the part to collect the reward money, but now he thinks Anya really is Marie's granddaughter. Anya, upset at being lied to, emerges and slaps Dmitri across the face. Dmitri leaves in shame. Marie looks at Anya closely. Marie then notices Anya's necklace - the very necklace she gave Anastasia ten years earlier. Marie gives her granddaughter a hug with tears in her eyes.

Marie arranges for Dmitri to be given the reward money. Dmitri turns it down though, revealing that he cares more about Anya than he does about the money. Anya overhears this and forgives Dmitri, giving him a kiss. Marie begins preparation for a grand ball to celebrate the return of Anastasia to her.

At the ball, Anya is getting ready when she is confronted by Batrok. He insists that he doesn't want to cause her any harm and warns her that Rasputin will be coming to do the ball to try to finish what he started ten years ago and kill her. He tells her that his magic comes from his amulet. He then hurries off, not wanting to be caught talking to her. Anya and Dmitri dance at the ball while being on the lookout for Rasputin. Finally, all the lights in the building shut off. Rasputin's minions storm through the ballroom putting all the guests to sleep except for Anya. She runs away, out of the building and onto the Alexander Bridge over the icy Seine River. Rasputin emerges from a cloud of smoke and corners her at the edge of the tall bridge.

Dmitri wakes up and frantically searches for Anya outside. Finally he sees Anya and Rasputin on the bridge. He runs over to the rescue, but Rasputin uses his magic to tie Dmitri up. While Rasputin is distracted, Anya grabs Rasputin's amulet and smashes it under her foot. Rasputin begins to disintegrate into dust. As the sun rises, Dmitri and Anya kiss on the bridge ("At the Beginning").