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THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
Martin Scorsese, U.S., 1993; 138m
Martin Scorsese's adaptation flips the artistic emphasis of Wharton's novel from biting comedy of manners to bittersweet reflection on the rules of the game. Every cut, every camera movement, every painterly composition, every objet d'art and every polite interaction articulates the peculiar form of social imprisonment sanctioned by upper- crust New York ca. 1871. Daniel Day-Lewis gives a passionately detailed performance as Newland Archer, and Michelle Pfeiffer is equally good as the elusive love of his life. With an amazing supporting cast, including Winona Ryder as Newland's outwardly meek but inwardly fierce wife Mae, Geraldine Chaplin as Mae's mother, Richard E. Grant and Alec McCowen as the gossips of the smart set, and Alexis Smith and Michael Gough as the tribal elders. Shot by Michael Ballhaus, with a beautiful score by Elmer Bernstein.
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