Keira Knightley on the 'amazing freedom' of period movies [Video]

By Rebecca Keegan

Nov. 16, 2012 12 AM PT

Every time Keira Knightley and director Joe Wright make a movie together, they go back in time -- from their new film, “Anna Karenina,” (late 19th century Russia) to their last collaboration, “Atonement” (1930s and ‘40s England) to their first pairing, “Pride & Prejudice” (early 19th century England).

In this excerpt from the Envelope Screening Series on Thursday, Knightley and Wright discuss why they consistently return to the format of the period film together.

“They’re fantasies to me,” Wright said, of directing films set in other eras. “There’s a freedom to dream.”

Knightley, who plays the title character of an aristocrat’s wife engaging in a passionate affair in this adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel, said “Anna Karenina” is as much about escapism as “The Avengers” or “Avatar.”

“I’d classify it in the same category as a sci fi or a fantasy,” Knightley said. “You can leave yourself and everything you know behind... There’s an amazing freedom.”

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