Lolita

1962

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance

64
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 89% · 45 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 84% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.5/10 10 117078 117.1K

stanley kubrick hotel depression lolita small town secret love

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Plot summary

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

Director

Stanley Kubrick Photo
Stanley Kubrick

Top cast

Stanley Kubrick Photo
Stanley Kubrick as Man in Mansion Interior
Peter Cushing Photo
Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein
James Mason Photo
James Mason as Prof. Humbert Humbert
Vera Lynn Photo
Vera Lynn as Mrs. Gibby - Cafe Entertainer
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.24 GB
1280*766
English 2.0
Not Rated
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 33 min
Seeds 21
2.42 GB
1792*1072
English 2.0
Not Rated
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 33 min
Seeds 90

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Wuchak 6 / 10

**_An attractive 14 years-old girl knows the power

**_An attractive 14 years-old girl knows the power over males she has… and wields it_** A middle-aged professor of French literature (James Mason) spends the summer in New Hampshire where he becomes infatuated by a 14 years-old girl (Sue Lyon), the daughter of the woman who rents him a room (Shelley Winters). Nothing good will come from this attraction if he cannot keep it in check. Helmed by Stanley Kubrick based on the book by Vladimir Nabokov, "Lolita" (1962) is a B&W black comedy and psychological drama that was controversial in its day (and still is) so the physical intimacy of the adult-minor relationship is only hinted at. Sue Lyon turned 15 during shooting and is surprisingly a good actress at such a young age. Don’t expect much exploitation of her beauty, though, beyond an early scene of her in a two-piece bathing suit. The character of Quilty has less of a role in the book and is believable. He’s basically a dark shadow of Humbert, mirroring Humbert's carnal qualities. Unfortunately, Kubrick allowed Peters Sellers to get out-of-control in the part, which spoils it (and the movie). Don’t get me wrong, Peter Sellers has great charisma, even here, but too many of his Quilty scenes are nonsensical or implausible. The two worst examples are: When he shows up at that hotel and has that eye-rolling (ad-libbed) conversation on the porch while looking in the opposite direction of Humbert. Later he shows up at Humbert’s abode masquerading as a school psychiatrist threatening to have a group of therapists come over to observe Lolita's homelife, unless she can be in his play. Why Sure! It doesn’t help that Humbert curiously goes along with both without question. While overlong by at least half an hour, the cast is a highlight and the drama is fairly compelling and sometimes amusing despite the quaint datedness of the production and the eye-rolling Quilty scenes. The film runs 2 hours, 32 minutes, and was shot in both America and England. GRADE: B-
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Reviewed by plasmawisp6633 6 / 10

The book's better.

The primary appeal of Nabokov's Lolita is the narrative style, and what it reveals about Humbert as a character. When entering the medium of film, I would say that it's almost impossible to convey the entire character of Humbert without the narration. Unfortunately, and it pains me to say this, Kubrick didn't even come close. It's most easily understood that this movie got all of the plot line of Lolita, but none of the substance behind it.

This movie focuses on only one real role of Humbert and that is Humbert the father. In the book, it is impossible to picture Humbert as JUST a father; he is also a justified pedophile, a nymphologist, a cultured intellectual, and most importantly, a murderer. Nabokov left the murder scene for last in the novel in order to demonstrate a build-up of malaise in Humbert. When Kubrick put the murder scene first, it makes it easy to forget by the time you reach the conclusion of the film that Humbert is capable of murder.

Not only is the development of Humbert neglected, but so is Lolita's. When we encounter Lolita as a pregnant 18-year-old in the book, Nabokov paints the scene with Lolita being a much more mature and developed character. Kubrick, however, portrays her as the same 12-year-old we spent the movie with.

I also can't blame everything on Kubrick. Cultural trends at the time of the movie didn't exactly allow for the full exposition of ALL the vulgar subject matter contained in the novel. Quite frankly, the "sex with minors" theme was so kept under the surface, I probably would have completely missed it had I not read the novel first. Lolita's a ballsy story put on the silver screen, and it takes a filmmaker with guts to even think of making it. I thought someone like Kubrick would be that kind of film maker, but its possible that he was just 20 or 30 years too early when we made this film.

The movie itself is completely average, and not anything to shout about. However, context is important. With knowledge that this is based on an unforgettable piece of literature, it greatly degrades the movie. Read the book folks.

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