Winona Ryder plays socialite May Welland in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence. May is the sheltered young woman engaged to Newland Archer, whose feelings become complicated by the return of her cousin Ellen Olenska.
The 1993 film adapts Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel about New York high society in the 1870s. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Newland Archer, while Michelle Pfeiffer plays Countess Ellen Olenska. Ryder’s performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
May is sometimes remembered only as an obstacle to the central romance, but the film gives her character greater strategic awareness than Newland initially recognizes. The period setting emphasizes social rules, reputation, marriage expectations, and the consequences of violating elite conventions.