"Anna Karenina" was often referred to as as "the greatest novel ever written," the film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic period drama, "Anna Karenina," has a lot to live up to.

With a star-studded cast, as well as an Oscar-award-winning director and writer, the film is a front runner on the upcoming Academy Awards.

However, the film divided the critics and reviewers. Surprisingly, the film got a 65 percent rating from movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics bashed the film saying it is all style and no substance; while others disagree and thought that the film was brilliant.

"Anna Karenina" is the third collaboration of the Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley and highly acclaimed director Jon Wright, following the award-winning box office successes "Pride & Prejudice" and "Atonement." The book was adapted into a screenplay by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard.

"Anna Karenina" tells the story of the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. "The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Ms. Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to all around her," says Focus Features.

"Anna Karenina" has the kind of enduring legacy in literature most only dream of. Legendary author Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be a "flawless as a work of art". Similarly, Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov loved the book, and especially admired "the flawless magic of Tolstoy's style."

"Anna Karenina" also stars Emily Watson, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen, Olivia Williams, and Alicia Vikander. The film will be shown in Australian theaters on February next year.

Watch the trailer of the film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's greatest novel below.