Retro Film Review: The Age of Innocence (1993)

Great filmmakers are those who, among other things, don't shy away from taking new challenges. Martin Scorsese, one of the most respected filmmakers in the world today, never shied away from them during his whole career. However, in early 1990s most people associated his name with gritty dramas depicting violence and other forms of social pathology on the mean streets of modern America. So, in 1992 many were surprised when he chose completely different setting for his next project. Released a year later, period melodrama The Age of Innocence proved that Scorsese indeed can take various challenges.

Script by Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese is based on the novel of Edith Wharton (1862 1937), book that won Pulitzer Prize and has been adapted for screen two times before. The plot is set in 1870s New York, in a time when the rapid developments of modern industry gradually concentrated most of the national wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people and thus created new breed of aristocracy. Since this class of people owes its lofty position solely to money, families and individuals try to maintain their social standing by marrying only to their own class. All this gradually led to upper class that consisted of small number of families and being bound by unwritten and unspoken but nevertheless strict code of behaviour. In this world grew up Newland Archer (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), young attorney who is about to marry young debutante May Welland (played by Winona Ryder). His orderly world is upset with the arrival of May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), woman who scandalised New York with her decision to separate from her philandering husband in Europe. Ellen's cousins fear that the woman would be scorned by her peers, so they employ Archer to persuade Ellen not to make even greater scandal by starting formal divorce proceedings. During such persuasion Archer gradually falls in love with a Countess whose free spirits and intelligence make such a contrast to his dull bride-to-be. Countess also falls in love with a young attorney, but their relationship is doomed from the start, since both of them are aware that they may keep their position in society only by following its strict norms.

There is hardly a better way to demonstrate Scorsese's abilities than to put this filmmaker in charge of project seemingly more suitable for Merchant-Ivory production. In hands of almost any other filmmaker adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel would probably end up like a dull collection of static shots, interesting only to literature students. Even in the first shots Scorsese shows that he would take quite another approach - Saul and Elaine Bass are hired to make memorable title scene, in some ways reminiscent of Hitchcock's Vertigo. This sequence are followed by the opening in which Scorsese again shows his skill with moving camera, including tracking shots that should remind viewers of Scorsese's previous work in Goodfellas. But even more impressive is Scorsese's excellent use of Michael Ballhaus' photography and musical score that combines Elmer Bernstein's original themes with classical pieces. The seemingly dull and uninteresting world of 19th Century aristocracy is brought alive also by Scorsese's great care about details - costumes, house interiors, props and even seemingly banal gestures define what the protagonists are and how they view themselves. The general picture is quite fascinating and not even some obvious matte paintings is going to distract the viewers from being brought into the bygone era.

Scorsese's task seemed even harder considering that almost nothing of dramatic potential actually happens in the film. Yet Scorsese succeeds in keeping the viewers' attention for more than two hours of film's running time. His achievement is even greater because the world depicted in The Age of Innocence was in many ways constructed on the unwritten and unspoken rules. Protagonists, their motives and their desires couldn't be described by action and dialogue; Scorsese had to use hints instead of direct declarations. Inexperienced filmmakers would make this film incomprehensible for an average viewer, but not Scorsese. All unseen and unspoken elements of the plot are explained with a clever use of Joanne Woodward's narration. Combined with Scorsese's sense of timing and cinema manipulation, this narration could give whole new dimension to otherwise banal and boring scenes. Excellent example is the scene in the second half of film, when seemingly mundane Archer's gesture towards May gets new and chilling meaning.

The only major flaw in this film was casting. Daniel Day-Lewis is indeed very talented actor and he made a good job of his role as Newland Archer, but the author of this review couldn't escape from noticing slight traces of Irish accent in his speech. Those small traces shattered the illusion of Newland Archer as an American aristocrat. His partner Michelle Pfeiffer was much better in her role, although her appearance in this film is less glamorous than the effect of her character would indicate. The most pleasant surprise among the actors in this film is Winona Ryder. Although her character is the only one to be transformed throughout the film, Ryder is very believable both at the beginning and at the end and her performance is very effective in giving necessary depth to May Welland. The rest of the cast is also very effective, but only Miriam Margolyes stands out in the role of aristocratic matriarch together with Stuart Wilson who plays the only character resembling villain in this whole film.

For some, the lack of actual villains in the film could be one of its flaws. Almost every character, despite the shallowness of their leisurely existence, could be understood, if not justified in their actions. Despite all their flaws, they are all capable of enjoying of some sort of happiness at the end. Their world might be dull, lacking excitement and constrained by strict norms, but from their point of view, it is the only one that could provide some sense. And even to those viewers who, once in a while, desire to see great filmmaking dealing with the themes that don't include psychopaths, drug dealers, teenage prostitutes or other things that mark our un-innocent age. For those viewers, The Age of Innocence is something more than series of pretty pictures.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on October 4th 2002)

==

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
Cent profile https://beta.cent.co/@drax
Minds profile https://www.minds.com/drax_rp_nc

Brave browser: https://brave.com/dra011

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7

Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10436-the-age-of-innocence?language=en-US
Critic: AAA