Scorsese’s criminally ignored work based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is exquisite and expressive, as the psychological violence of complicated romances and illicit affairs threaten to implode in the cloistered high society of New York’s ‘Gilded Age’.
Review #2,789
Dir. Martin Scorsese
1993 | USA | Drama, Romance | 138 min | 2.40:1 | English
PG (passed clean) for thematic elements and some mild language
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder
Plot: A tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman’s cousin.
Awards: Won 1 Oscar – Best Costume Design; Nom. for 4 Oscars – Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Original Score; Won Elvira Notari Prize (Venice)
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – Love Triangle; High Society; Freedom & Taboos
Narrative Style: Slightly Complex
Pace: Slightly Slow
Audience Type: Slightly Arthouse
Viewed: Criterion Blu-ray
Spoilers: No
Made during the time between Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995), The Age of Innocence was probably the most un-Scorsese film ever made up till that point—a period romance costume drama that was far from the gnarly violence and hyper-coded masculinity that marked his gangster movies.
Yet, as the layers are peeled in this exquisite, and frankly, criminally ignored work, we begin to see why Marty was so attracted to the subject matter.
It’s about New York, his home turf albeit one set in the corrupted ‘Gilded Age’ of the 1870s (Scorsese would go back a tad further in time to the 1860s with 2002’s Gangs of New York); it’s also about another kind of ‘mafia’—the stifling, highly-controlled inner workings of high society.
Based on Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from 1920, The Age of Innocence explores the cruelty of psychological violence and the chronic inability to escape from the pull of traditional, upper-class norms.
Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a young, promising lawyer, is to be eventually wedded to the prim and proper May Welland (Winona Ryder).
“I can’t love you unless I give you up.”
But when May’s older cousin, the lonely but strong-minded Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), leaves Europe for the States after a disintegrating marriage, Newland’s various formal (and informal) encounters with her leave him sufficiently provoked.
To say that he is smitten with Ellen is an understatement, such is her unbothered attitude towards all manner of propriety, but any form of illicit affair between them is taboo in this cloistered world where everyone is subjected to the strictest of judgments.
Scorsese’s work here evokes, to some extent, Visconti, particularly Senso (1954), which not only tackles the similar theme of complicated romances but also begins lushly in a grand opera house.
The Age of Innocence, however, eschews the pure classicism of Visconti’s masterwork, and instead adopts a more expressive use of the camera, enthralling tonal montages (that scene with sunlight reflecting off a window is sublime) and a conspicuous narration track—all hallmarks of Scorsese’s strikingly anachronistic filmmaking style.
Grade: A-
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 
Excellent review. I absolutely love this movie and agree with your review wholeheartedly. Martin Scorsese took an admirable step out of his comfort zone by making a period piece without the gruesome violence, foul-mouthed language or gritty style of his previous films. Daniel Day-Lewis delivered one of the greatest performances of his career here. I love the way in which it built sexual tension through words without any love scenes.
If you’re looking for a similar film to see in the same vein, I would recommend “Phantom Thread”. Brilliant period piece about a fashion designer set during the 1950’s. Daniel Day-Lewis is extraordinary in his final performance before his sad retirement. Here’s why I loved it:
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