Review of Lolita (1962) by Ross B — 22 Jul 2012

Stanley Kubrick brings Vladimir Nabokov controversial classic to the big screen in an impressive yet disturbing manner. James Mason stars as Humbert Humbert, a British writer and professor, who ends up renting a room for the summer from lonely and desperate widow Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters).

While Charlotte seems to fancy Humbert, he seems to have his eye on another female in the house: Charlotte's teenage daughter Lolita (Sue Lyon). What suddenly occurs is an illicit affair between the two that is both wrong and twisted as he eventually becomes her stepfather.

At the same time, they seem to keep running into TV Writer and celebrity Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers), who seems to have his own agenda when it comes to Lolita. The film version does tone down a lot of the sex from the novel (which makes sense considering the time it was released), but the film is carried by extremely fine performances.

Mason is pitch perfect as a man driven insane by his obsessions and sickness. Sellers gives a superbly twisted performance as Quilty that is both terrifying and charismatic. When the two of them are on screen together, Kubrick is able to get the best out of each actor.

Lyon gives a great performance as well as the bratty and naive Lolita, who clearly does not understand the world and ends up being taken advantage of by numerous people. While Kubrick has made better films later on in his career, it is still impressive that he could make a film so powerful from Nabakov's book while still toning it down for the tie period.

A classic Kubrick film none the less.