Word: countesses
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This shift of emphasis in characterization also affects the rest of the film. The movie frequently omits material necessary for us to understand the psychological state of the characters. For instance, in one scene Lord Darlington appears enamored of a countess who awkwardly lip-synches a German song, while in a slightly later scene, he insists that two Jewish serving girls be dismissed; what is not made clear in the movie is that he dismisses the two girls under the romantic influence of the countess, and that, when, feeling somewhat guilty a year later, he attempts to trace...
...late-19th century New York, "The Age of Innocence" tells the tale of the reintroduction of the Countess Olenska (played by Michelle Pfeiffer, with a shocking perm) to New York high society, after a decades-long sojourn in Europe with her husband. The Countess has made a bad marriage and is now returned to the bosoms of her former associates sans Count and hoping to divorce, which casts her as a fallen woman in the eyes of this morally puritanical--though decadent--crowd. Newland Archer (played by a stalwart yet at times wistful Daniel Day-Lewis), the intellectually curious scion...
Predictably enough, Newland ends up giving the liberal countess a lot more than just the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, he's engaged--and to Winona Ryder, no less! Winona plays the idiotic but socially savvy May Welland (a huge come-down from her kicky roles in "Heathers," "Beetle-juice," and "Edward Scissorshands...
...might have lent itself to lots of exciting intrigue and seduction a la "Dangerous Liaisons." Martin is trying hard to make a respectable and literary film, but the result is too plodding to sustain any dramatic tension. The denouement is obvious from the first scenes, when Newland sees the Countess at the opera. The Countess reminds Newland that as a child he had tried to kiss her behind a door: more kisses to come, one understands. Then at the post-opera ball Newland hurries to announce his engagement to May, so as to detract attention from the newly arrived Countess...
Perhaps the most exciting moments of the movie come in the final scene, when many years later, as a kind of epilogue, the much-aged Newland and his grown-up son travel to Paris, and have a date to take tea with the Countess. Having been treated to Newland's grayed locks and liver-spotted face, one is absolutely dying to see how the Countess has held up under the weight of the years. One is foiled. Thus it is throughout: the film continually promises high drama, but high drama consistently fails to materialize...