Classic Novel vs. Theater Flic

The Age of Innocence is set in the early 1870s and naturally many of the wealthy patrons of New York live in a life of luxury with beautiful houses full of elaborate furnishings and decorations. On the night of the annual Beaufort ball, everyone gathers at the Beaufort’s mansion.

“...the house had been boldly planned with a ball room-, so that, instead of squeezing through a narrow passage to get t

It takes superb acting to bring Wharton’s characters to life, and that’s exactly what The Age of Innocence possesses. Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Newland Archer, and he does a great job at showing the feelings of his character. He is strongly attracted to his childhood love who has returned from Europe. She is Countess Ellen Olenska, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who also does an excellent job portraying one of Wharton’s characters. Throughout most of the movie the feelings that the two have for each other are never spoken outright, but the “looks” that the two exchange during the movie is all that the viewer needs to recognize that there is a connection between them. At the very beginning of the movie Newland visits May and her family, including Olenska in their box at the theater. When Archer is reintroduced to Olenska “she made way for him by pushing back her chair, and promptly, and a little ostentatiously, with the desire that the whole house should see what he was doing, Archer seated himself at the Countess Olenska’s Side”. Not a word is mentioned in the book about how they felt when they met again, but in their obscure actions it is merely suggested that there may be feelings between them. Fortunately in the movie we are given a visual aide to help us see better the feelings which are passed in the glances to one another when they are together.

“The small bright lawn stretched away smoothly to the big bright sea. The turf was hemmed with an edge of scarlet geranium and coleus and cast-iron cases painted in chocolate color, standing at intervals along the winding path that led to the sea, looped their garlands of petunia and ivy geranium above the neatly raked gravel. Half way between the edge of the cliff and the square wooden house (which was also chocolate-colored, but with the tin roof of the verandah striped in yellow and brown to represent an awning) two large targets had been placed against a background of shrubbery. On the other side of the lawn, facing the targets, was a pitched real tent, with benches and garden-seats about it.”(160)

Other emphasis was employed when Archer “unbuttoned her [Olenska] tight brown glove, and kissed her palm as if he had kissed a relic”(222), in the carriage ride. The intentions of his act were greatly accentuated by the director in the film.

Scorsese elaborates on the intenti

Some topics in this essay:
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