Rent The Age of Innocence (1993)

Sumptuously photographed - but boring - The Age of Innocence review by RP

I have heard that Martin Scorsese rates this as his best film. Hmmm...

It is beautifully – even sumptuously - photographed and as a costume drama the costumes are, well, magnificent. But I found it unsatisfying and (I hate to say it) boring. Set in 1870s New York among the fashion and social conscious high society of the day it tells the story of a young lawyer (Daniel Day Lewis) engaged to be married to a young woman (Winona Ryder) but who is tempted by another (Michelle Pfeiffer). I say tempted, because that's as far as it gets – because trapped in a spiders-web of manipulative society matrons, the delicious and interesting 'other woman' is manoeuvred back to Europe. Err, that's it. If you like costume dramas, try this one – it may be for you. It wasn't for me. I'll give it 3/5 stars.

Love, Duty, and Violence of Restratint - The Age of Innocence review by griggs

There’s something deliciously ironic about Martin Scorsese, master of mob mayhem, making a film about emotional restraint. The Age of Innocence swaps bullets for etiquette, yet the cruelty lands just as hard. Its world of hushed gossip and unspoken heartbreak feels both exquisite and suffocating — a velvet glove concealing a slow twist of the knife.

The narration can feel overbearing and the camera moves with restless elegance, but beneath that flourish beats a devastatingly human story. Love and duty wrestle in silence, and the real violence happens in the pauses between words. Whenever Winona Ryder is on screen, the film glows; she understands repression better than anyone.

Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing is pure sorcery, shaping glances into emotional detonations. It’s painfully romantic, stunningly tragic, and shows that Scorsese can wound just as deeply with a look as with a gun

A stunningly shot film, beautifully remastered in 4K, about politics in high society - The Age of Innocence review by Timmy B

Daniel Day-Lewis's first collaboration with Martin Scorsese was one which, had it been anyone else who asked the famously selective actor to star, almost certainly never have happened. Day-Lewis himself commented many years later "Too English, but Scorsese was a damn good reason to say yes." And he is excellent in a film which is as much about the style, mise-en-scene & costumes as it is about the actual story.

Newland Archer lives in 1870's New York City. A Gentleman lawyer, he is in the centre of the social scene made up of the most powerful families in New York, where status & appearance are everything. He is planning a society marriage to May Welland, a good-natured and genuine woman from another of the powerful families. However, there is the brewing threat of scandal when May's cousin, Ellen Olenska, appears, fleeing a failed marriage due to her husband's infidelity & her subsequent affair with her secretary. Whilst initially asked to advise Ellen in his capacity as a lawyer, Newland quickly falls for the fearless & uncompromising Ellen.

As much as for me the story was not something which I found always compelling, I was absolutely in love with what was on screen in front of me. It is an exquisite & beautiful film, shot to perfection & in terms of cinematography, there is in many ways nothing quite like it. Scorsese, along with DP Michael Ballhaus, have created a sumptuous & spectacular feast for the eyes. From the luxury of the dinner parties to the outdoor archery competition, the cinematography, as well as the mise-en-scene, is flawless. It absolutely blows my mind that Ballhaus was not nominated for an Oscar for his work, but it deservedly won Best Costume Design.

Performance-wise, whilst this might not be in the same league as the headline grabbing performances of Christy Brown, Bill the Butcher or Daniel Plainview, his performance of Newland Archer is a study in quiet, almost internal self-destruction. At many points, you see the burden that he has to carry manifest itself internally, with it looking like his entire being is being consumed from the pain & love he feels, along with the realisation that to act on what he feels would have catastrophic consequences for everyone.

Pfeiffer is equally brilliant, fully making us buy into not only the plight of Ellen but also the absolute scorn she feels for the society rules which in no way is she going to play by, as well as the joy of living her own life on her terms. Ryder as May is also excellent, as the woman who on the surface seems naïve but below is not only fighting her own battles, but knows exactly what is happening around her.

As much as I am not a big fan of costume dramas, this is a rare treat which looks stunning with exceptional acting.