THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
A film review by Vijay Ramanujan
Copyright 1993 Vijay Ramanujan
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis - Newland Archer
Michelle Pfeiffer - Countess Ellen Olenska
Winona Ryder - May Welland
Plot: Newland Archer is torn between a promise to marry Mary Welland, and a love for her more worldly and passionate (but also married) cousin, Countess Olenska.
By now, I'm sure all have heard of the lush settings, beautiful dinners, and of the directorial genius of Martin Scorsese. It seems that little praise is left to write, but here goes.
This is not a ground-breaking film in the conventional sense. Scorsese doesn't take large chances, nor many chances at all. What he has done is to perfect film-making. He has raised the level of the art instead of redefining its boundaries, the way Francis Ford Coppola or Tim Burton try to do. But his attention to detail and his feel for the material make this one of the most seemless and timeless movies ever. He is helped, in no small part, by a superlative cast.
Miriam Margolyes is wonderfully eccentric as Welland's Grandmother Mingot, a character oddly reminiscent of Brando in THE GODFATHER. Stuart Wilson is equally engaging as the scandal prone businessman, Julius Beauforte. But the stage really belongs to the three main actors.
Daniel Day-Lewis is solid in his performance here. He is in prime form, playing the exact opposite of his character in THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. Here he is torn by the love of two women, not spurred on by it. He is constrained by societal norms, not oblivious to them. It is hard not to feel the pain of his predicament. However, I still found myself feeling that Archer was a hopelessly, if unknowingly, selfish individual, and Lewis came just short of convincing me otherwise.
Michelle Pfeiffer, on the other hand, was magnificent. She alternated pained selflessness with manipulative gamesmanship so easily that they seemed one and the same. She has a myriad of voiceds, from engaging to pained, to hypnotic, and rotates swiftly between them, bringing out every facet of Olenska's personality. Her eyes showed a vitality behind her broken spirit, letting us know that however horrible the count might have been, he hadn't managed to crush her. When she dismisses Archer's complaints of the pains he can't endure, by calmly saying "I've endured it," you can see she has. She is is total control, not only of herself, but of Newland, her family, and the entire movie. This is as much her story as the story of Newland Archer.
And Ryder? With May billed as a docile bore, nothing more than a pretty mantelpiece, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of her performance. "If looks could kill they probably will." The look, as she questions Archer's reason for postponing a business trip, shatters the misconception of ignorace. And she reveals a certain nobility and insight when she questions why Archer wants to hasten their marriage, and then warns him that she cannot find happiness as the cost of another--the lover all were sure she was unaware of. She effortlessly lulls both characters and audience into a false confidence, then snaps them awake with a subtle look or an unexpected insight.
The only complaint I had was with the narration, provided by Joanne Woodward. She brings Wharton's words to the screen with a touch of class and a good pace. It was crucial at times, even humorous. It was at its best in a scene introducing guests at a dinner party, each with their peculiarities and weaknesses. But at other times, it intruded on the characters, telling us what they were thinking and how they had changed since we saw them last. The actors in this movie were good enough to convey such subtleties of spirit without the help of narration. It often seemed to interfere with the flow of the movie.
Overall, a nearly perfect movie. Humble in breadth, but deep enough and strong enough to make it the must-see movie of the nineties so far.
(A solid, but not overwhelming) 4 out of 4
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