Go Watch the Original

akhoya87

Led astray from Pasternak's novel and even the original Doctor Zhivago, the movie was perfectly cast with everyone playing the wrong roles. Hans Matheson -- decent actor, but simply isn't suited to play Zhivago. In terms of playing Lara and Tonya, however, Keira Knightley and Alexandra Maria Lara are excellent and superb, matching if not exceeding the performances of their predecessors.

Though I must say, I would have liked to have seen Alexandra Maria Lara play Lara and Keira Knightley play Tonya; but due to Knightley's age, this may have been an impossibility. Both are stunning actresses with remarkable skill and this is reflected in Zhivago.

I am extremely disappointed by the removal of Yevgraf in this version. Some of the plot changes also make the movie implausible; this version disrupts the storyline without filling in the gaps.

If you need to watch a movie to give you an impression of Pasternak's novel, go watch the original. Then watch this. It would be hazardous to do it the other way around.

score 5/10

akhoya87 15 November 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1217240/