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| Lolita
Year: 1998
Classification: Drama
Directed:
- Adrian Lyne
Actors/Actresses:
- Jeremy Irons
- Melanie Griffith
- Dominique Swain
- Shelley Winters
- Sue Lyon
Lolita 1998
Although Adrian Lyne's Lolita is a good film adaption of Vladimir Nabokov's superb novel, it contains fatal flaws. First I will say that the cinematography is glorious and the score by Ennio Morriconne lush and romantic. I expected Jeremy Irons as the obsessed Humbert Humbert to turn in a mind blowing performance. Unfortunately, he stands around looking glum most of the time. Dominique Swain as the nymphet Lolita does have several impressive moments, but ultimately is unconvincing as she comes across as nothing more than a 90s brat. I will say though that the relationship between Humbert and Lolita does have its very powerful moments, just not enough of them.
I don't hold these faults to the actors. I think Adrian Lyne, the director is responsible for the films flaws. For one thing, he seems to want to make Lolita look as unattractive as possible every chance he gets. She takes out her retainer before performing oral sex on Humbert, and is frequently seen munching on bananas and getting milk mustaches. Also in one scene, we see Lolita sitting diown, laughing as she reads a comic book. The camera moves away to reveal that Humbert is making love to her. This and other scenes make the relationship between Humbert and Lolita repulsive, and if you're going to make a film based on Lolita, their relationship can't be portrayed as disgusting. The audience must be made to feel the love that Humbert has for this girl. It only partially succeeds. Irons also fails most in the ending scene where Lolita tells Humbert that she never loved him. Irons merely cries for two seconds and leaves. James Mason in Kubrick's version is much more moving. I also have a problem with the fact that Lyne seems to have duplicated the Kubrick film shot by shot in that scene.
My last qualm is that this adaption is nearly completely devoid of humor, which is an essential aspect of Nabokov's story. Melanie Griffiths gives a fine performance as Charlotte Haze, but she is given far too little screen time. Frank Langella as Quilty is also quite amusing, too bad he only gets ten minutes to show it. Thus, when a 17 year old Lolita reveals to Humbert that it was Quilty who put her away, we don't care. It should be a revelation, but it is not. Quilty's death scene offers an infusion of black humor, but it is too little, too late. Jeremy Irons last few scenes as an emotionally broken Humbert are very moving though.
I give this movie three stars because for all of its faults, it is involving and does deserve to be seen and compared with Stanley Kubrick's 1962 adaption. Even though it falls short when compared to it.
Lame Lolita.
To associate this horrible movie with Nabokov is a shame. It has none of the wit and dark humor that made the Nabokov novel so great, and it has none of the charm and subtlety of Kubrick's movie. Bleak, bloodless, boring.
A tale of obsession
Quiet, bookish Professor Humbert Humbert (Jeremy Irons) accepts a room with the flamboyant, lonely widow Charlotte Haze (Melanie Griffith). He doesn't care for the widow very much, and the room is not exactly desirable, but when he sets eyes on Charlotte's 14 year old daughter, Dolores--Lolita-- (Dominique Swain), Humbert decides to move in. Humbert has never quite recovered emotionally from losing his first lover--Anabelle Leigh--and Dolores bears a striking resemblance to Humbert's memory of the dead girl.
At first, a rather subtle rivalry begins to stir between Charlotte and Delores as they vie for Humbert's attentions, but Dolores immediately awakens Humbert's frozen and stunted sexuality with a vengeance. Humbert struggles--albeit weakly--against the overpowering urges that sweep through him, but he crumbles to the inevitability of sexual encounters with the nubile nymphette who taunts him into action.
This is a beautiful film--haunting--and archetypal, and there were some scenes emphasizing evil, rot and decay involving Clare Quilty (Frank Langella) that reminded me very much of the film, Angel Heart. Jeremy Irons was perfectly cast in this role as the slighty nervous, repressed, obsessive Humbert who ultimately sees and understands his fate, but is powerless to chose any other path. Irons somehow managed to convey the tortured aspects of Humbert's character very well, so that he remains a sympathetic character. Humbert's misuse of adult power is juxtaposed excellently against scenes of his powerlessness--for example, Humbert's attempts to discipline Lolita are almost comic, but always pathetic--especially when she so quickly learns the easiest ways to wheedle more allowance or how to seize Humbert's loose change in return for sexual favours. Swain was excellent as the petulant brat who wields her sexual power like a magic wand, and practices her new-found skills on Humbert--she too is sympathetic--not a particularly pleasant person, nonetheless, she still has no concrete idea of the magnitude of her actions. It was quite easy to believe that Lolita's flagrant sexuality was an imitation of her mother, and Charlotte--as played by Griffith--was obviously an older, slighty more subtle version of Lolita. Excellent adaptation--displacedhuman, Amazon Reviewer.
Girls Mature Faster than James Mason
From the moment Humbert Humbert (James Mason) sees Lolita (Sue Lyons) lounging on the grass in her backyard in bikini and sunglasses, he's befuddled. Ain't no way he's gonna pass up renting a room from Lolita's mom, Mrs. Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters) now. So the emigre spends the summer mooning after the 13-year-old nymphette while holding off the advances of the amorous landlady, as author Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers) and his beatnik girlfriend make a big splash at the local dance.
I enjoyed "Lolita" immensely, much more than I thought I would, although I didn't expect the movie to take the plot twists it did, some of which are quite jarring.
Still, the actors are all first-rate. James Mason does a great job as Humbert, appropriately out of it for some scenes, conveying a certain nonconversance with the English language without feigning any sort of accent different from his own famous one. Sue Lyons does the bored teenager quite well, very naturalistic. The real startler, though, is Peter Sellers, whose American accent is right on the money, and who manages to contrive several subcharacters within Clare Quilty. It's a pity, really, that he got so bogged down with Inspector Clousseau and didn't display the full range he might have more often.
Make a date soon to find out "How did they ever make a movie out of Lolita?" and see if you are as helpless as poor James Mason.
Buy Lolita at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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