Age of Innocence, The (Martin Scorsese, 1993)

THE SCOOP
Director: Martin Scorsese
Plot: Society scion Newland Archer is engaged to May Welland, but his well-ordered life is upset when he meets May's unconventional cousin.

Genre: Drama/Romance
Awards: Won 1 Oscar - costume design. Nom. for 4 Oscars - sup. actress, art direction, score, adapt. screenplay.
Runtime: 139min
Rating: PG

IN RETROSPECT
The Age Of Innocence is Martin Scorsese's most inaccessible feature film. Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and many other Scorsese classics have the nostalgic ability to hook us from the start, even on the umpteen viewing. The Age Of Innocence is similar to Kundun; both are slow moving dramas that rely heavily on creative photography to make the subject matter of the film easier to be appreciated. Both emphasize values of tradition, loyalty, and faith. But both have the capacity to bore viewers even it has the Scorsese stamp on it.

The Age Of Innocence is at times a torture to sit through. It's a strange motion picture actually; it couldn't make me sit still for two hours yet there's an underlying beauty to the presentation of the film. Scorsese and his artistic crew have brilliantly conceived a world that reflects the social construct of 19th century New York. Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer give solid and elegant performances but they slightly lack the finishing touch to their displays.

Nominated for five Oscars, only winning one in a year dominated by Steven Spielberg for his astounding contribution to Schindler's List and the technical breakthrough in Jurassic Park, The Age Of Innocence is a tough film to appreciate, requiring patience and stamina to last through its two hour plus runtime. Some may be attracted, others will be turned off. I belong to the latter (mind you, I'm a Scorsese devotee). Giving such a low score for a Scorsese picture is an insult; I might start to appreciate it more in the next decade or so, but now The Age Of Innocence is a forgettable piece of cinema.

SCORE: 6.5/10
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Last updated: 2010-03-13 23:14:02 by eternality_tan