The Age of Innocence

In the 1870s, New York City's elite live by strict codes of conduct and ostracize anyone who defies them. Archer, a gentleman lawyer, is groomed for a society marriage to May Welland. The return of Ellen Olenska upends the social balance and tests the tribe's rules.

Ellen returns from a disastrous marriage and is subjected to the era's double standards and ostracism. Archer, moved by her plight, helps restore her standing by arranging a dinner for her hosted by the van der Leudens. The event marks a rare challenge to the social code.

Beaufort, newly admitted to high society by marriage, is wealthy but morally compromised. His flirtations with Ellen and his philandering fuel the community's loathing; when a financial panic comes, the elite refuse to bail him out.

Archer asks May to marry him; she accepts, though she senses he is not fully committed. Archer finds Ellen's unconventional views intriguing and feels drawn to a life beyond May's comfortable superficiality.

Ellen's attempt to divorce the Count is met with threats to publicize her adultery. The Wellands pressure Archer to intervene, and Archer reluctantly urges Ellen to call off the divorce to protect the family's honor.

Archer realizes he loves Ellen and tries to push May toward rushing the wedding. May, sensing the tension, asks him if his love is genuine, and he reassures her.

Archer cannot keep the truth inside and confesses his love to Ellen, who loves him back but tells him they are not ready for such a temptation. She chooses to move to Washington to escape temptation.

May accelerates the wedding schedule, but Ellen declines the invitation to attend. Archer and Ellen resume secret meetings, though his elaborate deception fuels May's suspicions.

Ellen departs for Europe with the help of Mrs. Mingott's funds; Archer and Ellen still feel the pull but keep it secret. May hosts a lavish farewell party, and reveals to Archer that she is pregnant, hinting she understood more than he admitted.

A quarter-century passes as Archer and May raise three children. May dies of pneumonia, and the old social codes that once bound them fade away. Archer’s son Ted becomes engaged to Beaufort’s mistress’s daughter, signaling a shifting world.

Ted invites Archer on a father-son holiday in Paris so he can meet Ellen again. Ted reveals that on May’s deathbed she confessed to him that she once urged Archer to give up what he wanted most, and Archer responds with a sharp line: 'She never asked me.'

Archer and Ted reach Ellen's apartment, but Archer cannot bring himself to visit her and sends Ted in his place. He walks away along the Paris streets, reflecting on what might have been and the stubborn grip of the past.