I watched The Age of Innocence the other night and was reminded of how magnificent Winona Ryder is... She owned that film. Michelle Pfieffer and Daniel Day Lewis had nothing on Winona's subdued yet compelling performance of a woman we think is flighty, unintellectual and clueless but is truly cunning and calculating while rallying her allies and devising a plan to keep her marriage and her good name intact while her husband's hormones lead to several makeout sessions with her own cousin. Winona deftly develops this character throughout the entire film with a well-placed question here and a pointed look there until she drops the hammer down towards the end. Whammo! Winona wins!
Anyway, today is Winona's birthday and in celebration I thought I'd share this photo... An oldie but goodie of a troubled actress having at least the sense of humor to mock her situation.
(PS - If you enjoy historical fiction and haven't read Edith Wharton's masterpiece novel upon which the movie is based - and to which it stays rather true - please treat yourself and do so immediately. You won't be sorry. Wharton's description of 1800's New York society is spot on.)
4 comments:
i have not read the book or seen the movie. dang it! winona GENERALLY bugs me, but i will give it a whirl. and daniel day lewis is usually superb, but perhaps this isn't his finest work? i am ready to judge his performance. hahahahahh
She really did do an outstanding job with this role and very much deserved her Oscar nomination. But I also think Daniel Day Lewis did an excellent job portraying Newland Archer. Expressing that mix of repression and longing is very difficult.
This is definitely one of my favorite films, and arguably Scorcese's best work.
love her -- your post reminded me of that!
love her, too--and am a proud owner of one of those t-shirts!
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