Set in aristocratic Rome at the turn of the 20th century, wealthy and self-absorbed nobleman Tullio Hermil carries on an affair with a sophisticated yet possessive widow, Countess Teresa Raffo, while treating his devoted wife, Giuliana, with cold condescension. Wounded by his years of neglect, Giuliana takes a lover of her own with young novelist, Filippo. When she becomes pregnant with Filippo's child, Tullio’s wounded pride cannot be contained, setting off a chain of events leading to ultimate tragedy.

Luchino Visconti’s final film L’Innocente (1976) is “among the most beautiful and severely disciplined films he has ever made” (The New York Times). A loose adaptation of Gabriele D’Annunzio’s 1892 novel, Visconti’s marital melodrama skewers masculine delusion and sexual double standards in “a fitting and majestic finale to a remarkable career that embraced neorealism and period romanticism with a grand yet disciplined operatic style” (The Los Angeles Times).