Based on the 19th century Russian novel by Pushkin, this 1999 film tries hard to bring the passion of the novel to the scene. The result, however, is a lukewarm retelling of a story that, at its heart, should have captivated me from the beginning.

Ralph Fiennes starts as Eugene Onegin, a cad of an aristocrat. We first see him in St. Petersburg gambling away his own inheritance and living a high life. Then word comes that his uncle, who lives in the country, is dying. Onegin makes it there on time to watch the coffin being nailed shut. When the will is read, we learn that Onegin has inherited the vast land holdings, including hundreds of serfs and the splendid estate where he can live in luxury. Onegin is bored and unfeeling and even suggests renting the land to the serfs just because he doesn't want to bother with the responsibilities of being a landlord.

Toby Stevens is cast as his neighbor, Vladmir, a sensitive young man who writes poetry and is madly in love with his fiancé named Olga. Vladmir admires the sophisticated Onegin for his self confidence as Vladmir is unsure of himself and seems to be trying too hard to please everybody. Well, it seems that Olga has a sister, the beautiful Tatyana played by Liv Tyler, who steals the heart of the audience with her ability to show emotion with just a glance from her large eyes. She falls in love with Onegin and declares her love for him. But he cruelly rejects her and engages in a flirtation with her sister. This infuriates Vladmir who challenges Onegin to a duel.

At this point in the film, I think I should have been fully engaged, feeling the passion of the story. Instead I was a detached as Onegin, who goes on to have the tables turned on him when he meets Tatyana six years later.

I enjoyed the film for its story, its cinematography and it's acting. I also like the way it was representative of its times and depicted the frivolous world of Russian aristocracy. I liked the direction too, especially one scene that depicts Tatyana, Olga and their mother hearing some tragic news. The dialog for that scene is purposely muted and it's a very effective technique. However, I never really got caught up in emotion, which was something this story called for.

This was one of the best Russian novel adaptation I have ever seen so far. The beautiful cinematography, music and the superb acting by Ralph Fiennes, which have the viewers the added depth and the complexity that was not apparent from the simple plot of the book. I love the way the book was adapted and I strongly recommend this film to anyone who appreciates the raw beauty and irony in most Russian Literature. Fantastic film!

There are two theories of translation -- one that you should stick as literally to the original as possible, the other that you should take certain liberties to get a good end result. I adhere to the views of the latter school.

Pushkin has managed to move one of the greatest nations on the earth to the core, to unify them for 200 years. Many Russians would say Evgenii Onegin is Russia's greatest literary work. But the original is in rhyme, a rhyme that feels sort of baroque and fairy-tale-ish to me, and that part of it doesn't translate well to the modern English-speaking range of sentiment.

A Russian sculptor friend of mine once asked me what the difference was between art and decoration, and when I had no answer, he said, "Decoration is about many things. Art is about one Thing."

Onegin is about one thing, and that one thing is faithfully preserved in this film. The film leaves out lots of lesser things, which point to this one thing, but you have to make choices to fit the world into two hours. That one thing is heart and mind of Evgenii -- what makes a man say no to that which he loves and wants above everything else? What makes a man deceive himself into believing he (and even she) don't want it? What becomes of such a man?

God is great.

Tatyana sees right through him even in her moment of greatest agony and she never wavers. It makes me dizzy to think how much pain I might have been spared had I had such insight at 17. And that aspect of Pushkin's story strikes me as beautifully unrealistic. As Pushkin said, "A great story must be a little... hmmm... 'glupovat'..." Perhaps 'dorky' would serve as a translation?

Ralph and Liv act beautifully. (I hadn't given Liv Tyler sufficient benefit of the doubt -- she understands her role and conveys such depth to it.) But I think first prize must go to the director for seeing this one clearly.

This movie pictured Pushkin's poem in the best possible way. This movie takes you down to the 19th century Russia.
As tailored as Liv Tylor was for this role, I had hard time believing that she is not originally russian! And my all time favorite actor, Ralph Fiennes, did a great performance as well.

A lush, truly "artistic" film - dark, subtle yet complex, haunting.
The acting is subtle, and much of the emotion is expressed in looks. Liv Tyler does a more than decent job in her role as an innocent, naive Tatyana. She conquers her British accent well, and her final scene makes up for any lack (of feeling, acting, emotion) one might have felt during the rest of the movie. Ralph Fiennes is in his element as brooding, aloof, bored rich aristocrat. The musical score is hauntingly beautiful and original, yet strange and foreign, and proves that the Fiennes family is talented through and through.
But, don't expect a happy ending - this IS a Russian work, after all!
Having only seen the Tchaikovsky opera, and only having read snippets of the novel, I was more than pleased with this treatment, and feel that this film is a worthy adaptation of Pushkin's work.
I want more films like these, if Martha Fiennes is willing to make them.
A worthy viewing. Very rich.