“My most violent film” – Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s 1993 film The Age of Innocence immerses the audience into the distinctive patterns of technique that exhibits the film’s style. Certain techniques in lighting, sound and camera are particularly salient and consistent throughout the entirety of the film.
Central to the narrative is Newland’s progressive love towards Ellen. Spotlighting coupled with silence occurs between Newland and Ellen’s interactions. Instances such as their conversation in during the Opera and the touching of Ellen’s hand invests the audience onto their developing love for each other in secrecy due to existing in their strictly conservative world. Furthermore, this blossoming romance and an insight of Newland’s psyche is represented through flowers. In particular, Newland would debate whether he were to purchase both Ellen and May yellow roses, thus a typical representation of romance, and in this context Newland’s conflict in deciding on his future.
Variations of narration is presented throughout the film. Along with the use of tracking shots, cranes and pans, the narration of an unknown woman provides the audience with an objective and informative context of the 1870s era. On the contrary, May’s letter to Newland is dictated through a monologue of her repeating the letter to the camera, thus providing a subjective perspective of Newland’s point of view.
Scorsese structures the narrative through Newland’s position in the social hierarchy of the 1870’s. Just like a majority of his films, Scorsese centres on a subject who possesses a middle power or is caught in the centre between rich and poor, or good and evil characters. Through Newland, the audience distinguishes the socially superior characters who determine what is social expected, from the outsiders who do not adhere to the social norms. Newland is caught between these characters and therefore instigates the exploration of these contrasting views.