The Age Of Innocence

The Age Of Innocence

Rich socialists and their daily lives during the Gilded Age are the major focus in Martin Scorsese’s film The Age of Innocence released in 1993. The film is based on Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel with an same name. This film is different from most of Scorsese’s works. There are no greed, or violence, or family themes present here, but rather reflection on perils of lovemaking. The Age of Innocence takes a shot at social networks by revealing how easy, it is to strive for the image of a person rather than the actual person herself.

The narrative revolves around three people: a lawyer, Newland Archer (Daniel Day Lewis), his sweet but innocent wife, May Welland (Winona Ryder), and her cousin who later becomes his lover, Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeifer). They are all part of the same elite social circle in New York City in the 1870s. When Ellen arrives in America to escape her unfaithful husband, Newland is assigned to represent her in divorce proceedings, something that has his gossiping coworkers curious about him.

As Newland becomes more and more fed up with the superficialities of his surroundings, he begins to admire Ellen’s uniqueness as well as her independence. Still, the problem is that her frequent travels keep her so far out of Newland’s reach that he begins to miss her more than his own wife. The situation changes only when May gets pregnant and over the next few years harbors no contact with Ellen. During this period, May and Newland have a couple of offspring, however May gets pneumonia and ultimately passes away.

Now Newland’s son, who is already some age, comes to visit him and together they plan to meet up with Ellen. After Newland’s son chooses to go out and see this woman in her house, Newland declines this opportunity, returning to his apartment and imagining the two of them on the beach several summers ago.

An essential aspect of the film is the cultural context. It is this context that creates most of the inner conflict Newland feels, and what pulls him out of it and towards Ellen. In this case, Newland is in the thick of the action and is accompanied by the audience at all times. In this case, it is physically impossible to be alone, as New York is a very spatially relevant and populated place.

Even within the walls of the houses that Newland visits and inhabits, people are always present. And, in a much wider sense, all the other characters, except Newland and Ellen, indulge in competing, boasting, and snooping about the intimate aspects of other people’s lives. This ever-present factor complicates the desire of Newland for the most part to be free from the outlook of self-others.

Voice-over is also one of the ways which reveals eutony and distortion of the author’s voice in this case narration of the film. Anonomus sometimes narrates events like ‘gossip,’ and narrates social events affecting other characters, etc. Most of what we know about these characters come from oaths and therefore depicts how the characters come to know each other.

Another aspect of this society is communication, interaction among these People. Many characters communicate with each other in a ‘social code’: answers to events and stew of rumors are not voiced plainly and directly. They are instead described as events or seeking out social contacts and communicated by other people to the subject which often needs to be interpreted.

This has more to do with purpose which is to maintain the illusion of peace and normality. Scandal is within these parameters and can not be so openly practiced but interesting for the society. As it appears, with nothing better to do in the society, people have a tendency to notice cut acroases who deviate even slightly from the archetype.

It is this environment that leads Newland towards Ellen. Ellen represents that which Newland always wanted: a life pursued on one’s own wish. With her, Newland thinks, he would be able to be true to who he is and what his emotions are in ways that he does not get to do with his wife and the rest of the people in his vicinity. However, his warm feelings towards her do not seem to emanate from their relationship, rather it feels like deep apathy for the insides of a person. They seldom discuss each other’s lives during their `dates.’

But, indeed, most of what he knows about her he picked up eavesdropping on other people and reading her case. So, in fact, everything was wrong: Newland was looking at the fantasy of her, not at the her herself. He dreams of how it would be to have a strong bond with someone and interact with them on social bases, yet he does nothing to make that happen. After their initial interaction, Newland dreams that he is already in a relationship with her and plans a kimono period with her. They would create chaos right there, taking into account her already butchered name and their degree of friendship.

This projection is exemplified at the end of the film, when Newland tells his son in the car on the way to Ellen that it has been so many years since he last saw her.

Set within the confines of a fractured marriage, this relationship proves fatal to Ellen, where she too, succumbs to the soul-crushing monotony of Newland. His struggles with desire make him feel real while his choice of living his probable life with her is interpreted as heartbreak. When attempting to form the bond between their two very tragic lives, Newland’s view of the mundane overshadows their love.

Unfortunately, Newland’s dreams are drowned by the sheer nature of longing rather than understanding and are rebutted by his incorrigible craving for love. Once again, there is a fundamental misconception about women the projection of self-impotence. How they viewed you is how you will see them soulless creatures, utterly decent. If only the nostalgia of love was this forgiving. Loneliness prevails over love and Newland certainly loses more than gained.

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