The Age of Innocence (1993 film)


The Age of Innocence is a 1993 American historical romantic drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. The screenplay, an adaptation of the 1920 novel The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, was written by Scorsese and Jay Cocks. The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder and Miriam Margolyes, and was released by Columbia Pictures. The film recounts the courtship and marriage of Newland Archer, a wealthy New York society attorney, to May Welland ; Archer then encounters and legally represents Countess Olenska prior to unexpected romantic entanglements.
The Age of Innocence was released theatrically on September 17, 1993 by Columbia Pictures. It received critical acclaim, winning the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and being nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. However, it was a box office failure, grossing $32.3 million against a $34 million budget. Scorsese dedicated the film to his father, Luciano Charles Scorsese, who had died the month before the film was released. Luciano and his wife, Catherine Scorsese, had small cameo appearances in the film.

Plot

In 1870s New York City, gentleman lawyer Newland Archer is planning to marry the respectable young May Welland. May's cousin, the American heiress Countess Ellen Olenska, has returned to New York after a disastrous marriage to a dissolute Polish Count. At first she is ostracized by society and vicious rumors are spread, but, as May's family boldly stands by the countess, she is gradually accepted by the very finest of New York's old families.
The countess is snubbed at one social party arranged by her family, but with the help of Archer she is able to make a comeback at an event being hosted by the wealthy Van der Luydens. There she makes the acquaintance of one of New York's established financiers, Julius Beaufort, who has a reputation for risky affairs and dissipated habits. He begins to openly flirt with the countess both in public and in private. Archer prematurely announces his engagement to May, but as he comes to know the countess, he begins to appreciate her unconventional views on New York society and he becomes increasingly disillusioned with his new fiancée May and her innocence, lack of personal opinion, and sense of self.
After the countess announces her intention of divorcing her husband, Archer supports her desire for freedom, but he feels compelled to act on behalf of the family and persuade the countess to remain married. When Archer realizes that he has unwittingly been falling in love with the countess, he abruptly leaves the next day to be reunited with May and her parents, who are in Florida on vacation. Archer asks May to shorten their engagement, but May becomes suspicious and asks him if his hurry to get married is prompted by the fear that he is marrying the wrong person. Archer reassures May that he is in love with her. When back in New York, Archer calls on the countess and admits that he is in love with her, but a telegram arrives from May announcing that her parents have pushed forward the wedding date.
After their wedding and honeymoon, Archer and May settle down to married life in New York. Over time, Archer's memory of the countess fades. When the countess returns to New York to care for her grandmother, she and Archer agree to consummate their affair. But then suddenly, the countess announces her intention to return to Europe. May throws a farewell party for the countess, and after the guests leave, May announces to Archer that she is pregnant and that she told Ellen her news two weeks earlier.
The years pass: Archer is 57 and has been a dutiful, loving father and faithful husband. The Archers have had three children. May had previously died of infectious pneumonia and Archer had mourned her in earnest. Archer's engaged son, Ted, persuades him to travel to France. There, Ted has arranged to visit Countess Olenska at her Paris apartment. Archer has not seen the countess in over 25 years. Ted confides to his father May's deathbed confession that "... she knew we were safe with you, and always would be. Because once, when she asked you to, you gave up the thing you wanted most." Archer responds, "She never asked me." That evening outside the countess' apartment, Archer sends his son alone to visit her. While sitting outside the apartment, he recollects their time together and eventually gets up and departs.

Cast

Cameo appearances
Scorsese's parents, the actors Charles and Catherine Scorsese, have a small cameo appearance during the sequence in which Archer meets the countess at the Pennsylvania Terminus in Jersey City. Scorsese himself has a cameo as the "fussy bustling photographer who later takes the official wedding photographs", while Day-Lewis' sister, Tamasin Day-Lewis, has a cameo admiring May's engagement ring.

Production

The Age of Innocence was filmed on location primarily in Troy, New York. The opera scenes were filmed at the Philadelphia Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The scenes set in the home of Mrs. Mingott were filmed in "The Castle", a fraternity house belonging to the Alpha Tau chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Formerly known as the Paine Mansion, after its completion in 1896, it was heralded as the grandest house in all of Troy. The scenes depicting the country house in snow were filmed inside the circa 1737 Dutch-colonial Luykas Van Alen House, in Kinderhook, New York. Only one major set was built, for an ornate ballroom sequence at the Beaufort residence. The triangular Victorian Gothic Rice Building was used as the setting for the law office.

Writing

Scorsese's friend and screenwriter Jay Cocks gave him the Wharton novel in 1980, suggesting that this should be the romantic piece Scorsese should film as Cocks felt it best represented his sensibility. In Scorsese on Scorsese he noted that

Graphic design and titles

The film's title sequence was created by Elaine and Saul Bass. The famous paintings featured in the film were newly created high-quality reproductions. The bursts of color employed as a fade out were inspired by the films Black Narcissus, by Michael Powell, and Rear Window, by Alfred Hitchcock.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed in the US from a budget.

Critical response

On review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 55 reviews, and an average rating of 7.38/10. The site's consensus states: "Equal measures romantic and wistful, Martin Scorsese's elegant adaptation of The Age of Innocence is a triumphant exercise in both stylistic and thematic restraint." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
"The Age of Innocence" placed as the fourth best film of 1993 in a poll of 107 film critics, as it was named on over 50 lists.
Vincent Canby in The New York Times wrote:
Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: He then added the film to his "Great Movies" collection, and defined the film as "one of Scorsese's greatest films".
Peter Travers in Rolling Stone wrote:
Desson Howe in the Washington Post wrote:
Todd McCarthy in Variety wrote:
Rita Kempley, also in the Washington Post, wrote:
Time Out wrote:
But not all the critics had positive remarks. Marc Savlov in the Austin Chronicle wrote:

Accolades

At the Academy Awards, The Age of Innocence won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for the awards for Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction.
At the Golden Globe Awards, The Age of Innocence won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture, and was nominated for the awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director – Motion Picture and Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama.
At the British Academy Film Awards, The Age of Innocence won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film received another nomination in this category, for Winona Ryder, and was also nominated for the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.
In addition to her Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations and Golden Globe Award win, Winona Ryder won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In addition to his Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations, Martin Scorsese won the National Board of Review Award for Best Director and the Elvira Notari Prize at the Venice Film Festival, as well as a nomination for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature Film.
Elmer Bernstein was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television.
Awarding BodyAwardNomineeResult
Academy AwardsBest Supporting ActressWinona Ryder
Academy AwardsBest Adapted ScreenplayJay Cocks, Martin Scorsese
Academy AwardsBest Original ScoreElmer Bernstein
Academy AwardsBest Art DirectionDante Ferretti and Robert J. Franco
Academy AwardsBest Costume DesignGabriella Pescucci
British Academy Film AwardsBest Actress in a Supporting RoleMiriam Margolyes
British Academy Film AwardsBest Actress in a Supporting RoleWinona Ryder
British Academy Film AwardsBest CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
British Academy Film AwardsBest Production DesignDante Ferretti
Directors Guild of America AwardsOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion PicturesMartin Scorsese
Golden Globe AwardsBest Motion Picture – Drama
Golden Globe AwardsBest Director – Motion PictureMartin Scorsese
Golden Globe AwardsBest Actress – Motion Picture DramaMichelle Pfeiffer
Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actress – Motion PictureWinona Ryder
Grammy AwardsGrammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or TelevisionElmer Bernstein
National Board of ReviewBest DirectorMartin Scorsese
National Board of ReviewBest Supporting ActressWinona Ryder
Southeastern Film Critics AssociationSoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressWinona Ryder
Venice Film FestivalElvira Notari PrizeMartin Scorsese and Michelle Pfeiffer

Soundtrack

The film score for The Age of Innocence was composed by Elmer Bernstein, who had previously collaborated with Scorsese on Cape Fear.
The film starts with a duet scene of the opera "Faust" from Charles Gounod.