Scorsese's The Age of Innocence: An Analysis 

I dont know why, but nobody seems to talk about this movie on youtube. This movie is one of the top romantic movies of all time, and yet few talk about it. Thank you, for doing this.

May didn't just suspect; she knew. She knew almost from the beginning.

Yes May went for the jugular but let's remember she did give Archer an out in the beginning

The scene where May says she’s pregnant, in that stuffy room, is pure horror to me.

one of the most memorable scenes for me is May rising from her chair, back rigid,to tell Newland she is pregnant..that camera angle was almost chilling

What a painful ending. Olenska really sacrificed for her cousin as she can handle the pain while May most certainly wouldnt, it would be the death of her. While Archer has numbed his remaining life being with someone he doesnt love as much. But somehow May is the one with most pain, I mean constantly wanting love and approval to his husband, how bad could that be. When May said at her deathbed that they were safe with Archer because when she asked, he definitely gave up the thing he wanted most. It was definitely bittersweet. In the end, no one won, all were broken and hurt.

I first saw this in a class for film school and it shook me. The filmmaking is astonishing. And I was surprised to find it's by Scorsese because I had never heard of it before. These "out of genre" films from known directors, to me, always reveal the kind of filmmaker they actually are, without the trappings of their reputation. This is an underrated classic, truly.

Your essays are not just excellent interrogations of movies, they also seem to all have a call to action. An insistence that we can and should build on the lessons of the past to create better consumable media, and become better people. That is what I love the most about them. Keep up the good work!

I saw this film for the first time about two weeks ago. I almost changed the channel, because I have never liked this time setting, but I didn't. I am glad I didn't. I was hypnotized by it. Absolutely hooked. It was incredibly intense. I was drawn mostly to Archer and his dilemma. After May tells him she is pregnant, his course is set. He will stay with her as they have children. He will be a good father and at least a faithful, present husband. I admit I was angry with all 3 major characters for the games they played, mostly May. She knew Archer and Ellen were in love or at least believed they were when she told Ellen she was pregnant even before knowing she was. Later I would think about it and realize she had the right to fight to maintain her marriage. The music of this film was beautiful beyond description. It was terribly sad for all three, because none of them really got what the wanted. Such is life. This commentary was very insightful.

The Age of Innocence has to be my favourite Scorsese’s film ever. It’s so beautiful, but sadly underrated. I loved the video and your analysis!

Age of Innocence really is a masterpiece and just doesn't get enough attention. To a certain extent, Scorsese's filmography is a victim of its own legacy. Anyway, I really appreciate your work.

The latter part of this video actually made me tear up, but the idea that the past wasn't really all that romantic, I'm just remembering it that way, made me feel a lot better lol

I was frightened for May. I felt that the character of May had great courage and was not as lame and plain personality wise as those in her world, seemed to see her. They did not understand her. I wanted to see Archer go on with Ellen before he married May. I confess that I as a viewer or part of the audience watching this drama, I found myself imagining a way out for the two. But...he went on to marry May. Unbeknownst to him, in the end it really was his own decision. Even if he didn't see it as his own true desire. His reasons where many. But they were all his own. What frightened me was at one point, Archer is sitting in his library, contemplating Japan. It was clear what was on his mind. It was also clear that he was considering murdering May and running away with Ellen as a possible solution. That was frightening. And extremely disappointing to me. May must have guessed what was crossing his mind. But she handled it with great care as she always did. He accepted his role as new father to be and husband. He also realized that Ellen would never go along with any plan to murder her own cousin just to steal Archer. She would never go along with Archer doing so just to be with her. In the end, Archer realized that his decision to be husband and father .. coupled with life's karmic path and society that pushed him down that road, was the right decision for his life's path. In the end, May was right. When he realized what May had sacrificed for his sake, for family, honor, respect, I think he appreciated May and possibly loved May more. After all, she did die .. nursing Archer back to health. To me, that was kind of a clue about what May sacrificed over her entire married life. She was married to a man she knew was day dreaming of another. Can anyone imagine how empty, lonely and painful that might be? It seemed to me that Archer did love her at the time they were engaged, before the exotic infatuation of Ellen came to haunt him and invade his peace of mind. She was innocent. Even if she did become a bit of a master mind to keep Archer on the straight and narrow. She was innocent. She did not wrong anyone. She endured with grace and strength the unfortunate imposition of his fascination with Ellen. She found a way to live with it without hurting any one in her family or his. But... for me, I shall never forget how his fascination with his own passion for Ellen drove him to contemplate the death of May. Even .. if it was for a moment. I found that so frightening and disturbing. I know she sensed it. Her character had to have wondered what was in his mind. They never asked each other anything .. right? They always guessed? I might've guessed but I dont know that I could've stayed. It's very complicated story. That is why I think that the character of May was far more brave, wise and true than given credit for.

The Age of innocence is one of my favourite books and when I learned there was a movie i didnt want to watch it, then I saw it was directed by Scorsese and I decided to watch it. It really is amazing and one of the best book adaptations ever. Thank you for this video, it was as haunting and beautiful as the movie/book.

The biggest theme of The Age of Innocence is thinking the pastures are greener on the other side- it is a massive cautionary tale for wanting what you can't reasonably and morally have. Archer starts off happy with May, then gets smitten by Ellen. Then he stays in that mindset and takes a long while to leave it. Whereas Ellen experiences the consequences of trying to look for "greener pastures"- consequences like stigma, financial issues and which country to call home be that America or Europe. Archer experiences none of those consequences and is protected by the upper class society and values which he feels stifled by. And because Archer wants something more, something he can never really have, he overlooks the qualities of May, his wife, qualities such as her wisdom, patience, niceness and forgiveness. But in time he does come to appreciate them for he is loyal to May and dedicated to their children. Furthermore Archer can't have stayed with May solely out of loyalty because he would have become resentful if he had been always pining for Ellen. So Archer accepted his marriage and the only reason he could amicably accept the marriage was if he loved May. That's why Archer walks away at the end, after having one final indulgence of nostalgia he walks away. If he had really loved Ellen then he would have seen her, but he clearly didn't and so he has rejected Ellen and the fantasy of Ellen as he loves May. Well that's my take anyway.

So glad I found this video. Criminally underrated film as is your channel. I have a small disagreement. I don't think he chooses his fantasy of Ellen in the end. The first time yes, he chose the fantasy instead of dealing with the realities of what she would bring into his life - divorce, ostracized from his community, probably loss of money, loss of the stability in which to raise a family, however, in the end Archer chooses himself, the person he had become by making the choice to stay with May and raise a family. To go back down the Ellen road would undo the person he had become and he was too old to change again. He remembers the dilemma bittersweetly, and feels the nostalgia, but I don't think chooses the fantasy in the end, I think he let's it go.

As a teacher of literature and The Age of Innocence to high school students (A level in the UK) this is such a clever critique of the novel as well as the movie. I'll use it as a case for the book which I love but students tend to find less exciting and engaging than The Great Gatsby, which they also study. The focus on Scorsese's point about the 'violence' of the novel and the La La Land parallel are really effective. Plus, I can use the point about the dedicated/undedicated camera to help with how point of view is created in a novel. Thanks.

Besides actually making movies, the second best thing in life is to discuss them, dissect them, exchange ideas and maybe find something that even the artist didn't know about. Your analyses screams of a deep enthusiasm and love for cinema! Keep it up! As a suggestion, take a look at Sofias Coppola's masterpiece Lost In Translation (my favorite movie), and how in my mind it portrays the greatest impossible love story ever told.

This movie will not be appreciated for another 20 years. An absolute Masterpiece

I’m halfway through the book and it’s looking like it’s going to be one of my very favorite books. There’s just so much to every sentence to grasp and analyze. Thank you for helping me understand the deeper subleties!! A+ on your video :)

This is honestly one of the best analysis videos I've ever seen on any film. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this video just as I enjoyed every second of The Age of Innocence. Thank you for sharing!

Holy crap, this is SO great. I really like The Age of Innocence, but you've opened it up to me in an amazing way. Gotta rewatch with this in mind. Thanks alot.

I read the book and then several others by Edith Wharton. Though this is arguably her best-known novel, the central theme of struggles between the reality and the fantasy is ubiquitous in her other books, as well as in our real world where there are always practical constraints to the wants, from within and/or without. Nobody was really innocent here when everyone also tried to be innocent. Probably the paradox is the beauty of the age, theirs and ours.

My approach is a little bit different and has nothing to do with fantasy. In my opinion, Newland Archer ended up avoiding his real self. He never took the leap, probably out of fear for the "other self" of his, the real one, the one that would surprise him. He got scared and he backed up. Life gave him a second chance (although unlike with the same person) to be himself but he chose the dream (like most people still do). He preferred his comfort zone both times. Instead of being himself (by trying to make a reality of what he craved) he preferred to live it as a dream. In dreams, failure does not exist. Nor disappointment. He even preferred the dream for many years (when reading his books in his library) instead of thinking deeply about what Madame Olenska brought to surface of himself. Dream (which is not the same with fantasy) is the excuse for never moving to unknown territories, for never conquesting one's life. Newland Archer has been governed by fear, both times (although the second time could be considered as "out of reality", at least for a relationship like the one of the first time). He was given an opportunity, through Madame Olenska's sudden appearance, to start the life closer to what he really was but he preferred his "safety" of a world already known.

This is one of the most excellent movie analyses I've ever heard. I wish you had a video on every movie that I love!

Wonderful essay, bravo. The best analysis I've seen anywhere. For me this film all comes down to its last shot--Newland's final decision caps a perfectly crafted personal tragedy, seeming both surprising and inevitable at the same time. I'm a die-hard Scorsese fanatic, and I agree that this film deserves to sit right next to Taxi Driver and Goodfellas as among his greatest achievements.

I had to see this movie because your analysis was so thought provoking. I loved watching a Scorsese film with all the excitement, style and substance of Goodfellas and Casino without the explicit violence or sex.

Your analysis really helped me understand May. I was puzzled the whole movie about her, but I couldn’t sense the machinations under her sincerity in the final scene. This helped illuminate that!

Thank you so much for this video. I'd been in love with this movie since I first saw it an even more after I read the book. For me the pressure of folliwing the social patterns just for the sake of appearances was always scary as hell. So I completely agree that this is a violent movie. Yet wonderfully executed. Every time you watch it, you Discovery something surprising, you haven't noticed before

I'm coming back to comment that this video essay helped me look back at an old relationship and see how illusory it was, and helped me put it in the past. It helped me see that I was on the wrong track asking myself the question, "Why didn't we end up together?" The answer is he chose the fantasy in his head over the real me.

Wow! Not only is the Age of Innocence my favorite Scorsese film it's one of my favorite films ever. And though there were times I didn't agree with your interpretations, overall you hit the nail on the head and challenged my own perspective. Well done.

This has been, and still is, my nr. 1 favorite movie of all time, and i've watched it countless times since it came out so many years ago. Admittedly, i've always had questions about it (also after reading the book), and kept wondering about many details. Needless to say, i absolutely loved your analysis, thank you very much!

This was the most horrifying film for me. Very disturbing. It plays on my greatest real fear of living an empty life without a real, passionate love.

This is a really great review! One thing that surprised me is that May isn't like stupid - she knows that Archer is acting weird and thinks about Ellen immediately.

A perfect analysis. The way you've explored the ideas, themes, and emotions presented in this film articulate so much of why I love this movie and why I keep returning to it year after year.

WOW. I just finished watching the age of innocence on netflix and this video made me love it more! It's true! Even in our relationships we emphasize on fantasy sometimes rather than being with the person and facing reality. This was like a philosophy lesson to me! Thanks!

This is what I like about Good Directors, They know the use of Camera. For e.g. PTA uses great camera+ editing in "There will be blood" in "Wedding Scene" which is phenomenal.

I've watched/listened to this video about 40 times now and I still get hit by an emotional pile of bricks when you get to the bit about how "...there has never been an Age of Innocence, or an age of chivalry, or a merry old England..." against a montage of shots celebrating those illusions at their exuberant best. Seriously, brutal. Love it.

Not only does your analysis describe the fantasy portrayed, but the fantasy I indulge in when I watch the film - the observer propagating through the lens into his own life. It’s a mirror of a mirror.

There are many good points raised in this well executed analysis of an emotionally complex film. While much can be made of Scorsese's camera work, the symbolism of objects highlighted in the visual narrative, and the ideals that we project onto others, in reality the thesis of the video misses the central point of the film in my view. It is certainly the case that fantasies dominate our minds, and the film plays with this idea. It is not so much that these mental images of the world we craft are not real, as much as they represent possibilities or potentials we did not explore because of CHOICE. The irony of "Age of Innocence" and "La La Land" (a good parallel drawn in the video) is that the characters choose to pursue what society informs them to choose even though it is pretty clear that the main characters know society's rules can be broken. They repress their feelings and assume their lives are binary, either true love or success / tradition, because they have been told that they cannot have true love (the fantasy). Regardless, it is still their choice to make. What both films illustrate is that in reality, human beings are still left with choices, and those choices are what define us. Archer, just like Mia, is guilt stricken because his choice (inaction) cost him the love of his life. As a result, both characters experience catharsis at the end of each film for 2 reasons: 1) they idealize an imagined alternative future with their true love because that is all they have left of the past experience, 2) they are so grief stricken based on the choices they made that all they can do is walk away. The grief of choice is what both films are really about. Archer / Mia cannot go back to their true loves because it is simply too late, the decision has already been rendered. So the story goes, if Arthur goes back to Ellen he will not feel the joy of reunion, he will feel the pain of regret. The moral of these stories in my view is less about reality versus fantasy as much as it is a warning to choose wisely. This lesson applies to nations as well as individuals. The 1920s / 1950s for example, may not be the idealized worlds we imagine them to be, but we can see that the world we live in today lacks the self-confidence, the style, the values, and the world view those times expressed. The things captured in the movies and books of those times make us yearn for the past as a result. In essence, when it comes to choosing your life partner or the direction of your society, strip away all the noise or distractions and go with your true feelings because if you don't, you will carry that burden a long time, maybe forever.

This is one of my all time favorites

What a great analysis!!! I have always loved this movie and saw it in the 90s. I always thought Archer left at the end because he thought it was too late, or the moment was missed. I never considered that he chose the fantasy over the reality, and this is spot on. I love this movie even more.

Great analysis. This video helped me to see alot and to bring into focus that he did choose the fantasy of Ellen over the reality Ellen. The outside of her home with the tattered windows and the common awning are not fantasy. Thats her reality. Somehow that imagery maligned with his youthful dreams of what life with her would be like. He also thought May was not free because of the society she lived in and loved. If that is so...in the end... he really didn't want to be free either because he prefered the "shackles" of the glamor or New York society more than he had ever realized, otherwise he would have went up to meet Ellen.

I've yet to see a section of movie more devoted to nostalgia then when Enya prances into the scene with new york gentlemen hanging on to their hats and the camera taking all the time in the world to capture that moment. That scene doesn't exist but for the sole reason of making us, the audience see new york as it was and long for it.. masterful!

Your essays are wonderful, I hope you'll continue to make them (:

In one word "brilliant". One of my favorite films of all time; thank you.

Recuerdo que la primera vez que vi esta película quedé como hipnotizada, me costó mucho encontrar el nombre de la película y años después el libro llegó a mis manos de manera increíble, casi un milagro diría yo... Pero jamás había experimentado una película y un reparto que reflejara de manera tan real la esencia del libro. Sobre el análisis de este video, estoy totalmente de acuerdo, Archer elige la nostalgia y la fantasía y lo que es peor es que yo creo que haría lo mismo.

Watching it as a young man in my 20s, my head was spun. It really is a superb film. I just found this today, after 20 years I have thought about this film again and thank you so very much for your excellent analysis. Another angle I just want to add. There's a lot in Age of Innocence that speaks to LGBT experience, especially those who come from traditional families and conservative backgrounds. The ideas of living a false life, of knowing very good people who only ask you to pretend and then longing, yearning for real connection is all too familiar. For 21st century Americans, the idea of not self actualising is very foreign, in an era of divorce at a drop of a hat and the whole "you be you" philosophy. But 19th century society was very different: the world of social ostracism and moralistic loathing directed at you because you want to be you - LGBT people totally get it. So it's totally understandable and very realistic why Archer and Ellen don't get together. Why Ellen presumably remains single for the rest of her life and why she had to leave New York to be free and never go back. Ask the army of single gay men on Grindr every night, barely any of them are from the city they're in. Secondly, the deflection back on things, the almost archeological detail of this materialism reminds me of the way gay men fetishise material things and it's for the same reason: the stuff gives meaning when nothing else provides it. In fact, we are all mindless consumerists now, I shouldn't tar gay men only, and that search of expensive items or signifiers is all about our hollowness. Nevertheless, thank you for the video.

The Age of Innocence is sublime. Wharton crafted a literary masterpiece that Scorsese transformed into a cinematic masterpiece.

Didn’t you think Archer was waiting for her to appear at the window?The same pier scene.You could see hope in his eyes,when there was a movement around the window.It’s her hands!” but then no “She didn’t turn around”. Why did he leave it up to chance/sign ?

Excellent analysis ! I recently watched 'The age of innocence' and can't agree more with whatever you pointed out. Also, you're absolutely correct about 'La La Land' too. I've got to say that you possess great insight !

Yes, it is a masterpiece! I hate it when people say oh this is a very un-scorsese film. To be honest, there's no consistency in his filmography as per subject matter. The only consistent thing he has in his career is that he has made cinema of the highest quality. Look at Taxi Driver and then look at The Wolf of Wall Street. Raging Bull and then you get The King of Comedy. And The Age of Innocence is one of his best work. I am so glad to find this video!

Beautifully analyzed! A bit of arcana: In the scene where May's engagement ring is being admired (8:11), the woman to her left (tall, brunette, 3-strand pearl necklace, satin bow at bodice top, vaguely shaking her head) is Tamasin Day-Lewis, Daniel Day-Lewis' (older) sister.

"Is This Just Fantasy" is the best film analysis on RU-vid. Shame there's so little of it, & nothing posted in years, but these videos are just more revealing than anything else out there. I keep coming back to them to rewatch. Thank you.

your channel is really amazing and criminally underrated!

This is a gem! I love that you tied in other eras of cinema…maybe I’ll finally watch La La Land 😁

This was an excellent dissection and commentary on one of my favorite films. People want the romantic happy ending which isn’t true to reality, which is also a bleak truth. Although my personal love relationships have had the movie happy ending, so it does happen, but according to those around me, I’m a rare breed. It’s not the same for others.

This is one of the best film analyses I’ve ever watched and The Age of Innocence my favorite period drama-thank you for doing justice by it!

this is possibly the best video to watch right after seeing the movie...you have given me all the feels! beautiful!

I think with these video essays you've posted have made me better at critically thinking about movies. So thank you.

Love this video essay! Brilliant! You were able to articulate many things I felt but never knew how to put in words

I don’t even know what your channel is about. I’m subscribing out of faith. The analysis of this movie was brilliant.

This was so wonderful, I'm really looking forward to what you do next. (Also I love your empathetic treatment of Victorian culture, and attention to Scorcese's anthropological lens on it, great work!)

This is now my favorite analysis of this film. I wish I could show it to everyone who sees the story as Archer being kept from his true love. There are a few films that dare to point out that the fantasy or idea of love isn't the same as real love, but because they are so few in cinema, the message seems to go over people's heads.

you're one of the best corners of the internet. I hope you keep making videos and if you don't, I hope you continue to dissect stories for your own sake

Thank you so much for this video essay, Margarita G. It made me think of many things. One thing was how Edith Wharton usually went for sad endings, how she wrote about the congealing effect of circumstances and society. She was a lot like Henry James in this. Another thing I recalled was how Edith Wharton was very educated on interior design, and in fact co-authored a book on it called "The Decoration of Houses". I wonder if she really meant anything allegorical about her emphasis on plates, paintings, wall colours etc., or if it was just her own personal interest coming through in her writing. However, I also think the opposite, that her emphasis on material things of wealthy people was a comment on how wealth, rather than freeing people, entrapped them in a kind of hell of social conformity. But then, with any free act of sex likely to end in a pregnancy, I understand the need for protection of young women. And then when you talked about the fantasy that Archer made up about a more romantic, passionate, Bohemian life represented by Ellen and also the fantasy of the impossible romance in Lala Land, I thought about the romantic fantasies expressed in Harlequin Romances about the passionate, wealthy men who fall in love with the heroine. Our fantasies whirl about our perceptions like the clouds of electrons whirl about an atomic nucleus. I have to say as I grow older such fantasies grow to be like beautiful old dresses that you keep in the closet, take out to look at every once in a while, but which you would never dream of wearing.

this was amazing, such an exceptional essay analytic review of ' the age of innocence,' i hope to see that you continue with such great work.

I am so impressed with this voyage you have so beautifully offered us, into this (for me, at least) timeless movie... You have got a new sub. Thank you for the nostalgia.

Excellent analysis, incisive commentary, nicely edited, and beautifully paced narration. Subscribed!

hey i just want to say thank you for this amazing video!! i haven't seen or read age of innocence, but i have been thinking a lot recently about how people imagine the past (both their own individual pasts and broader historical periods), how often that imagination is more myth or religion than concrete reality, and how that stops us from living full lives in the present. your analysis reflected so much of that thinking, and i really appreciated how you took the more abstract ideas of the film and applied them to the way we see the real world, our own lives, our politics, etc, and how we might engage with those things in a healthier, if more painful, way. i hope i can be strong enough to, in my own life, choose a painful but meaningful and worthwhile reality, rather than a beautiful but self-deluding and ultimately meaningless fantasy

Just finished all your videos, they are all amazing, I really hope you keep doing this, will support for sure.

Wow, well done! I've been entranced by this work for years, and this still smacked me in the face. And made me finally decide to watch La La Land.

Excellent video! Thank you for exploring that final scene with Archer. For me it is one of the most heartbreaking in cinema! Thanks again!

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One of my favorite period dramas. I really love your perspective!

I actually applauded at the end of this. Fantastically done, got a new subscriber!

Such a great analysis..thankyou...Ive always loved this film but now love it and understand it even more! 💜

I just saw the Age of Innocence, and was a huge fan of LaLa Land, so watching your review was an amazing bonus that was unexpected, but spot on, and changed my thinking about both films. Bravo! What an insightful, smart, and deeply resonating review you wrote. This is next level thinking that I truly admire. A+ all around.

Mid-way through I started to cry and I don't know why... (this video was great, I'm binge watching all of your videos right now!)

This is a brilliant analysis of a great film. I hope to see you make more videos!

Margarita, you are amazing. What a great analysis! I'm reading the book now and loving it.

Just discovered this while searching for commentary after rewatching Age of Innocence for the first time since it came out in the 90s. Drawing the connection to themes from LaLa Land illuminated the nostalgia vs. reality theme. I enjoyed watching this and absorbing your perspective.

I'll admit it; The first time, I just skipped through the video thinking "it's just another video essay", but something got me hooked. I guess it was the footage from "la la land". Then, I went back and re-watched the whole thing. This is definitely one of the most beautiful video essays I've come across! Deserves more recognition! Please keep up the good work!

I just love your analysis. Learned incredibly much.

Your narration is pure poetry.

Wonderful analysis. These clips are amazing.

Thanks so much for focusing on this-it’s one of my favorite movies and it’s very underrated imo.

I really liked your analysis for "The Age of Innocence"! You made me want to see this film again! Thank you Margarita!!! :)

Amazing analysis! And your voice is absolutely gorgeous, made it even better.

I'm just your average youtube viewer without any knowledge on film or philosophy, but I really like the way you dissect the films relating them to the topics you want to talk about. I also love your voice and how you get our attention and feelings without any background music. Your content is top tier, if you keep doing this you will blow up in subscribers.

This is an absolutely terrific analysis of the film! Thank you.

Just discovered your channel. Your video essays are amazing!!

Thank you for this. I have seen the film several times and I have always wondered what it was about the camera movement that fascinated me. Now, I know the distinctions between a motivated camera and an unmotivated camera. I love how Scorsese has treated this story where there is so much being said by the narrator and the secondary characters, and so much unsaid by the main characters. The camera work, the editing and those dissolves to colors made cinematic what could have been bland in the hands of someone less artistic and skilled.

I've seen "The Age of Innocence" once. I was also struck by all the extraneous shots of all the hee-haws and doo-dads these rich New Yorkers had in their palatial homes. There were shots where I felt these people were being consumed by their stuff, buried alive in all of the material excess surrounding them. It was a masterstroke of cinematography--throughout the whole movie you feel this airless claustrophobia, but you can't really put your finger on what is causing this feeling. This analysis finally identified the cause of that "closed-in" feeling I had--these marvelous shots of all this useless stuff...

I am so glad I found your video! I watched the film a dozen times, read the book a dozen times, so I am hoping that the message didn't go above my head, yet I was always baffled by the ending. I kind of interpreted it that Newland Archer, after a lifetime of conforming to society and form becomes used to it and he just doesn't have the strength to leave it behind, also perhaps as a last, sincere gesture to May after he learns that she knew and in her own way, pitied him.

This is a fantastic analysis. Coincidentally, I just watched The Age of Innocence for the first time, and this helped me to clarify my feelings about its themes. It really is a great film with lots of layers, and you've done a great job of delving in to that. Looking forward to whatever you decide to do next!

Beautiful essay, thank you! The connection with LaLa Land was absolutely perfect, I feel like a lot of people miss the point in this film (more even than in The Age of Innocence).

I love this movie. I do not get tired of watching it. Very well done. An adorable story.

Wonderful analysis. You made me appreciate this movie even more. Thank you!

Exquisite commentary on my favorite Scorsese film. THANK YOU!!