I accidentally came across The Age of Innocence movie with the sole wish to watch Daniel Day Lewis‘ forgotten performances. While this movie, in fact, feels more like a Martin Scorsese movie than Daniel Day Lewis’ owing to its powerful direction. It is turned even more beautiful by the narration that goes in the background. It is almost as if Edith Wharton, the writer of the book from which the flick has been adapted, is narrating the events herself.

The strength of the movie stays in its endearing drama with powerpack performances delivered by Daniel and Michelle Pfeiffer. The drama is so real you could taste it in your bones. The unrequited emotional trauma that is flung around will make you feel very sorry for these characters, at the same time pose questions and open up discussion forums to understand character behaviors.

It is one of those exemplary instances wherein the reaction of its portrayals fills the movie with substance as it lets your imagination fill unspoken gaps. You know, how when you are reading a book, it is the narrator’s description that defines a scene and lets your imagination do the rest, only here those silent moments are fed by great performances with unspoken words.

The Direction of The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence is an underrated gem. Martin Scorsese’s experiments are evident throughout the flick. You could see it in those bizarre angles, in the way he lets the backdrop fade as if everything ends up being background noise when it comes to showing the interaction of his main characters. It goes on to add those extra layers of feelings making you wonder how much these characters are into each other. Letters are read by people looking at the camera. It is a subtle way of personifying letters as if coming directly from the writer.

What doesn’t go unnoticed is the richness and splendor of New York. The grandeur of the new age New York is captured as an amalgamation of the British culture. It is more like an era of change where pomp is the new cool. But what makes you feel the void and lets you see through the facade is the narrator’s description.

Carriages waited at the curb for the entire performance. It was widely known in New York, but never acknowledged, that Americans want to get away from amusement even more quickly than they want to get to it.
The Narrator

Its slow and effective direction lets you get woven into its intricate lifestyle. Martin brings to you, society and culture by depicting Operas (Gounod: Faust in the very beginning) and balls, French influences, ostentatious manners, and gaudy luncheon discussions. He lets you take in all the lurid details, letting you be the judge of a period in history, wherein the reality was hidden underneath a mask of pretense.

The director lets you listen to the real shallow conversations by taking you to the tables of rumors and discussions. By letting you bite into their conversation, Scorsese lets you feel the frustration through the eyes of Newland as he feels helpless trying to defend contrasting opinions. You can’t help but wonder what’s the point of all that pompous demeanor when you walk in with a noose of societal conventions tied around your neck everywhere.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer

Daniel Day-Lewis creates yet another character and makes it his very own. Blown away by the winds of change he stands on the precipice of taking a leap of faith. His willingness to leave everything behind and storm away from order is what best describes the character of Newland Archer. Daniel is mincing his dramatic bits by standing on a dangling boat trying to ace both his personalities to perfection.

Nothing puts this character perfectly the way the Narrator does:

He questioned conformity in private; but, in public, he upheld family and tradition. This was a world balanced so precariously that it’s harmony could be shattered by a whisper.
The Narrator

Newland is an ever-thinking sentient soul as opposed to the one played by Winona Ryder. May Welland is everything shallow and everything he despised yet happily conformed to. She is a personification of traditions, an arranged setup that society thinks is the best fit for Newland.

Michelle Pfeiffer as Ellen Olenska

Along comes Ellen Olenska in Newland’s life. She seeps into his mind by being the talk of the town. Her being divorced is a thing that’s frowned upon by society, even as Newland tries to defend her honor by getting into debates, and getting her invited to the biggest dinners by the famous.

Michelle nails the character of Ellen giving her the right emotions. She is a hybrid of modernization and a prisoner to the human heart. It is hard not to see why Newland falls for this woman despite being betrothed to May. Apart from her fate that makes her different, her viewpoint towards life emanates from the carnage of her heart. She is deeper than the rest and strong without being an emotional wreck. She has experience in life and is trying to find her place in a society that talks behind her back.

Newland falls head over heels for her but is revolted incessantly by the people around him. Their beliefs are holding him back, until one day he decides to let the cat out of the bag and let his feelings run wild.

The Drama

The melodrama the movie feeds you is outstanding. The crux of the movie is basically built on it, from situations that pave way for it seamlessly.

There are so many beautiful moments that take you through the anguish the lovers feel. Even though loving each other seems easy, it isn’t. With May welling in the background, and Ellen refusing to accept Newland because of society and what it might do to him, Newland ends up in a quandary. He finally accepts the way of society, accepting May even though he has lost all interest in her.

The sheer mention of Ellen changes something in Newland. It is a challenge to see him hope and despair. Trying to steal time to be with her any chance he could get goes on to show his passion for her.

Some dialogues are so brilliant that you could feel sweat trickling down your neck. The tension the movie builds is very real and palpable.

There comes a point in the movie wherein it feels as if everything would end up being alright for Newland and Ellen when May bursts a bubble. The lens from which we have been watching May is actually belied for she poses an existential insinuation of a baby to save her life. It is a wild gamble she plays when being cornered and it is something Ellen, in her right mind, can’t fight.

Because of that very reason Ellen moves to Europe. She can’t live with that burden of upending her cousin’s life by being selfish. During her farewell party, you could see the yearning in Newland’s eyes as if his prized possession is slipping away. Any attempt to talk with her is thwarted by the family as they bid her farewell.

The Ending of The Age of Innocence

Another climax of the movie lies at the very end wherein you see an old Newland being coaxed in by his son to reunite with Ellen after the death of his wife. The son mentions how May had confessed on her deathbed that they were all safe with Archer because when she had asked him to, he had given up the very thing he wanted the most. To that Newland replies, “She never asked me.”

If you think about it, Newland Archer was never given a choice. It was pushed down his throat and asked to swallow. Also, May had in fact asked Ellen by the indirect implication of an imminent baby. Leaving Newland was a decision Ellen took on her own.

Newland is one of those characters who had ended up with an excruciating form of injustice done to him not only by society, his wife, and his lover. Given the choice, he might or might not have acted in the way that was deemed fit, but the matter of the fact was that he wasn’t given a choice. It’s a regretful statement reeking of remorse.

Why Does Ellen Walk Away in the End of Age of Innocence?

Sitting at the ingress, being pressed by his son to meet Ellen, Newland Archer chooses to walk away. He decides to not meet Ellen even after the death of his wife. Now that decision was his very own.

Years ago he was toyed around by the two women in his life, while he didn’t have a say in anything. He had acted in compliance agreed to their wishes by being a victim. His life was riddled with varied forms of societal injustice done to him.

His walking away is a bold statement, somewhat a vengeful act to that injustice. Also, it didn’t matter now. When it all mattered to him, when it was the only thing that he could think of, it was ripped away from him. He had long lost that age of innocence and led a life of societal honor.

Now it was too late. There was no point in meeting her to rekindle what was lost. Primarily because it is lost.

We don’t see how Ellen looked after all those years, because we are watching the final scene from the perspective of Newland. He chooses not to see her, and so we don’t get to see her either. Not knowing how she is or how she looked, it is actually better this way. Because Newland has lost the desire to rekindle those feelings.

The Final Verdict

The Age of Innocence movie is a work of genius. The writing is so brilliant that you couldn’t help but marvel at the narration that goes in the background. The direction is hands down one of the best in business. It will remain in your thoughts, just like it capers on my mind, and will be a topic of discussion if I were to talk about good movies.