Lolita (1997) 
 
Our Rating: 2 out of 5
Rated: R
 
Reviewer: Charity Bishop
 
This film was so controversial that its theatrical release was delayed over a year, and then only premiered on a cable network. Cinematically, it is a work of art... but also just as unnerving as the novel on which it is based.
 
Ever since the love of his life died when he was fifteen, Humbert (Jeremy Irons) has sought to find her again in the faces of young women. He has all but given up hope when he accepts a new position at a prestigious school and is forced to find a place to stay when the boarding house he was hoping to live in burns to the ground. Chance or perhaps fate leads him to the private home of Charlotte Haze (Melanie Griffith), a widower whose personal habits leave much to be desired. Humbert is about to make an excuse and slip out the side door to find better accommodations when he happens to meet her fourteen year old daughter Lo (Dominique Swain), whom he fondly nicknames "Lolita." Humbert is so taken with her that he chooses to stay.
 
Lolita is a flirt whose interest in him is far less innocent than her mother realizes -- and Humbert adores her for it. He lives for each glance, each tease, every subtle temptation and the day she kisses him before leaving for summer camp brings mingled emotions of elation and yearning. That is the day when Lolita's mother leaves him a note in the kitchen that will change all their lives forever and ultimately bring him and Lolita into the acquaintance of the sinister playwright, Clare Quilty (Frank Langella)...
 
I heard about this movie long before I made the choice to rent it and I have numerous thoughts to share about it, but first let me approach it from an artistic perspective. In terms of storytelling and transcribing absolute beauty onto the screen, this film is astounding. Its simple but often provocative shots are memorable and haunting, as its ability to make us understand and even have empathy for Humbert. The casting is brilliant and Jeremy Irons turns in a moving, torment-filled performance; there are times when you really do believe he is still fifteen years old inside. The characterization is also strong -- Lolita ranges from being delightful to being the most irritating teenager on the planet, while Humbert too is an interesting study, horrified and furious at another's behavior that is no different from his own. I also thought the use of camera angles for Quilty was magnificent -- you never see his face until the end, since he is always hidden in a haze of cigar smoke or lingering in the shadows. It makes for a haunting, sinister atmosphere.
 
That is where the praise of the story must end, because as you all know by now -- Lolita is ultimately a story about a pedophile. As young as Humbert feels, he is still an adult and does become sexually involved with a minor. No matter how provocative Lolita is, she is still a child. And that will be enough to make most audiences shy away from such a sordid mess of emotions. Some have criticized the movie for making Humbert likable -- in the book, he is much creepier, his intentions are far more sinister, and the audience's unease is compounded by the fact that he is very blatant in his narrative, but here we often choose to forget Lolita's age... and we shouldn't. In terms of content, the movie is strangely inconsistent. Sometimes everything is left to our imagination and in other instances, nothing is left to the imagination. Lolita and Humbert have two clothed sex scenes with movement -- emphasis is made on how much it means to him, and how little she cares and multiple implications of them living together in an intimate relationship; in one heavily-shadowy scene, they struggle naked in bed over money -- we never see explicit nudity, but enough that a body double was needed for the underage actress.
 
Lolita is constantly flirting with him -- jumping up and wrapping her legs around him, sitting on his lap, leaning over his shoulder, and just generally behaving ... well, like a slut. It's implied she has a sexual relationship with another older man.  More shocking still (and in what I think is very poor taste) is the fact that an important scene plays out toward the end in which a man is wearing only an open bathrobe -- and believe me when I say we see everything before the scene ends, from the front and behind. Violence includes Humber slapping Lolita on two occasions, her beating on him and screaming, and a man being shot multiple times; blood spurts and drenches the floor and bed where he eventually dies -- after being shot in the head. There are several uses of GD, one abuse of Jesus' name, and two f-words.
 
The subject matter is controversial and uncomfortable. The style is interesting and the story ultimately creates a sort of repulsion in the audience. There are even occasional moments of humor. It's an interesting take on a banned book but probably not a movie you would want to admit to having seen. Psychology students may find it an interesting look inside the head of a predator, but anyone else will be unnerved by it.