In early 19th centuryRussia, a bored St. Petersburg socialite named Onegin inherits his uncle's estate in the country. There, he meets a neighbouring landowner and aspiring poet, Lensky, and a widowed mother and her two daughters. The poet is engaged to the elder daughter Olga. Her sister, Tatiana, writes Onegin a passionate love letter but is cruelly spurned by him apparently due to her lack of social experience. His flirtatious attentions towards Lensky's fiancée lead to a duel. The duel is arranged to take place in a secluded place by a local lake, and unknown to the participants, Tatiana secretly witnesses the duel from a safe distance. She sees the outcome of Lensky taking the first shot and missing his opponent, followed by Onegin taking careful aim and disposing of Lensky with a shot to his opponent's head killing him instantly. Onegin soon after departs from his country estate. On his return, six years later, to St Petersburg, he encounters Tatiana, the woman whom he spurned, who is now a woman of refinement and married to a prince. Onegin begs her forgiveness for his past behaviour and becomes solicitous of her favors. After explaining to him that too much time has now passed, she refuses him and he is in turn now spurned by her.
Production
The film compresses the events of the novel somewhat; for example, the Naming Day celebrations take place on the same day as Onegin's speech to Tatyana. As a result, Onegin's reasons for dancing with Olga and insulting Lensky are left somewhat confusing. Much like the 1988 film version, Onegin gives the impression that, during the duel sequence, Onegin shoots to kill.
Onegin received mixed reviews, with praise for its production values and performances, but criticism was leveled at the pacing and writing. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times said, 'There is a cool, mannered elegance to the picture that I like, but it's dead at its center. There is no feeling that real feelings are at risk here.'. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, "An earnest but worthwhile attempt to render the Russian writer's tragic and romantic verse novel of 1833 for the screen... we are estranged from the distinctively comic savour of the original. But there still remains much that is worthwhile in this high-minded adaptation." On the more positive side though, Derek Elley of Variety said ' “Onegin” may not appeal to more cynical viewers unprepared to take the emotional leap of faith the movie demands.' It currently holds a 'rotten' 48% rating on review aggregateRotten Tomatoes.
