The Age of Innocence

Describing the setting of 1870s New York high society, Joanne Woodward narrates: “This was a world balanced so precariously that its harmony could be shattered by a whisper.” Countess Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), a relatively free spirit freshly separated from her husband, arrives in New York from Europe—whispers. She catches the attention and affection of her cousin’s fiancé, Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis)—even more whispers. To hear it from Martin Scorsese himself, The Age of Innocence captures “violence and hostility expressed through very elaborate etiquette and ritual.” The exquisite production design and costuming are both sumptuous and sensuous, never better expressed than by the deliberate unbuttoning of a glove.