147. The Age Of Innocence; movie review

 

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

Cert 12A

138 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate bad language

Anyone who enjoys cinema will agree that Martin Scorsese is a genius but when they think of him, it is most likely that they conjure thoughts of his violent movies.

But The Age Of Innocence proves that he doesn't need even a drop of blood to create intense drama.

This is the perfect combination of superbly detailed writing and magnificent execution. It transforms gossip into art.

Scorsese and Jay Cocks adapted Edith Wharton's novel which focuses on the mental torture of Newland Archer, played with constrained agony by the sublime Daniel Day-Lewis.

He is a lawyer who mixes with the highest echelons of New York society in the 1870s and is expected to marry May (Winona Ryder) from one of the city's most prestigious families.

However, while their prolonged engagement drags on, he falls for the mysterious and rather exotic Countess Olenska, played sublimely by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Appearances and proper behaviour mean everything but betrayal and backstabbing are never far away in old New York and Scorsese creates a dark underbelly beneath the facade of loyalty and respect.

While each of the characters is mindful of their language, Joanne Woodward's pinpoint narration tells the audience what is going on behind the veil of pomposity.

The Age Of Innocence is sumptuous. Every scene has an intricate costume and backdrop detail (the food at the elaborate dinners is mouth-watering) as well as precision dialogue.

Meanwhile, the acting is so rich - Day-Lewis portrays Newland to perfection, with a hint of John Malkovich's accent.

Pfeiffer's Countess is devilishly alluring without ever being sluttish and Ryder's May is much more conniving than seems possible from such a sweet outward appearance.

There is also outstanding support from Miriam Margolyes, Michael Gough and Richard E. Grant among others.

Overall, I found it surprisingly enthralling.

Reasons to watch: Scorsese shows his breadth

Reasons to avoid: Too many clipped sentences

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts in the magazine Pictorial Review. Later that year, it was released as a book.

The final word. Martin Scorsese: "Although The Age of Innocence may look lavish, the editing, the angles, the dissolves and the length of the images were all worked out way in advance to give the impression of extravagance. In fact, it only cost $32-34 million, and some of the most complicated things, like the beginning of the ball sequence, took only three-quarters of a day. But it was important to achieve the effect of a saturation of detail."  BFI

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