Lolita (DVD)

...an unavoidable accident, Humbert retrieves Lolita and the pair settle down posing as father and daughter. The strange Clare Quilty looms like a spectre over the proceedings but what is his connection to Lolita and her mother? When Lolita disappears it seems that Quilty may be the key.

Nabokov's novel caused outrage when released and the subject matter is still just as simultaneously fascinating as it is repellant. The screenplay is ...
...aged Humbert with teenage temptress Lolita is the core of the story and that's what ultimately makes or breaks this film. It's a contentious issue and one that typifies the director's work but how does old Stan the man get along here?

The story moves along slowly but somehow you end up reaching 30 minutes and suddenly realising that the time is flying. The scenes themselves are slow and draggy upon reflection but somehow they're enjoyable ... more

While Stanley Kubrick may be gone from this mortal coil, his work lives on. When his name is mentioned most will immediately think of 2001, Full Metal Jacket or even A Clockwork Orange (and for film fanatics, perhaps Dr Strangelove). Anyone familiar with cinema will know that this is simply not the case and while Kubrick may not have been the most prolific of directors he did make more films than many may remember him for. Never one to shy away from the sensitive or disturbing, it now seems only natural that Kubrick would be drawn to the Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita...

Professor Humbert Humbert finds himself in smalltown USA renting a room from widow Charlotte and her daughter Lolita. Spellbound by Lolita, Humbert marries Charlotte just to be near to the object of his desire but fate conspires against him and she is sent away to summer school (and following that it'll be a series of boarding schools and colleges). With Charlotte dying in an unavoidable accident, Humbert retrieves Lolita and the pair settle down posing as father and daughter. The strange Clare Quilty looms like a spectre over the proceedings but what is his connection to Lolita and her mother? When Lolita disappears it seems that Quilty may be the key.

Nabokov's novel caused outrage when released and the subject matter is still just as simultaneously fascinating as it is repellant. The screenplay is actually by the man himself (based on his novel) but apparently differs greatly from the book. How much I don't know as it's not something that I've come across in my reading journeys. That's irrelevant though, what we're concerned with here is the film.

Aware of the potential problems in bringing this tale to the screen, Kubrick inbues far more humour than one might expect and it certainly helps to lessen the impact of the subject matter. Turning it into more of a comedy than anything else, you may find yourself chortling lightly and it comes as something of a shock as to just how much humour Kubrick has. Is this the same guy who directed 2001 and all the other 'epics'? Looks like it.

So it has comedy but don't go expecting full blown slapstick or laughs aplenty - these are merely diversions from the underlying issues. The obsession of middle aged Humbert with teenage temptress Lolita is the core of the story and that's what ultimately makes or breaks this film. It's a contentious issue and one that typifies the director's work but how does old Stan the man get along here?

The story moves along slowly but somehow you end up reaching 30 minutes and suddenly realising that the time is flying. The scenes themselves are slow and draggy upon reflection but somehow they're enjoyable at the time. The cinematic touches are there in abundance and the camera work is as good as you'll find. The screen may not be filled with the wild and wacky but it's interesting none the less, and coupled with the odd sly or witty remark and it's easy to see why time is moving at a great rate of knots. Observing Humbert's ever growing obsession, we should get drawn further and further into the story but we don't. After that initial 90 minutes, things start to drag badly and the comedy peters out, and then it strikes you what it is about this film...it IS slow and draggy.

The cast make all of the difference and it's them that keep you engrossed, but once they've made their initial impression, the magic goes and so does your concentration. James Mason is fabulous as Humbert but the sheer length of the film makes him end up being annoying. Yes his dulcid tones mark him as being a world away from his US counterparts but his descent into almost insane jealousy is not well handled and Mason does not come away smelling of roses. Bowing out gracefully (and therefore retaining far more audience appreciation) is Shelley Winters. Repugnant, repulsive and thoroughly sickly sweet, Winters' Charlotte is the sympathetic figure that is just so 'nice' that we hate her...and we love it. Her demise is expertly timed and Winters (who I'm no fan of generally, but...) gets her performance right on the button. As if to emphasise the 'comedy' style, Peter Sellers pops up as Quilty. Never feeling quite right given the subject matter, Sellers' very presence adds an air of lightheartedness and while that may throw the censors and alter the tone of the film, it's nothing that we wouldn't see time and time again (I'm Alright Jack, The Bobo etc.). Finally we come to the madame of the moment: Lolita herself. Sue Lyons pouts away in her central role but never comes across as being a character that we feel genuinely attracted to (either physically or emotionally). Rude, arrogant, and a total user of men, Lolita's hynotic hold over Humbert is not obvious to us. Even if she simply acted differently around him then it would be better but you're left wondering just why this middle aged professor is so obsessed with such a worthless piece of future trailer trash.

So the story has promise but isn't brilliantly executed, and the cast are heavily relied upon to keep us interested - Bad film? By the Kubrick standard, sadly yes. It's not a feeling that one expects when dealing with Mr Kubrick but the simple problem here is that there simply isn't enough story. Running at 2 and a half hours, it's a long strip of celluloid to fill and sadly Lolita fails to woo this critic in the way that she ensnared poor old Humbert. The last hour is almost too much to sit through...but it's more to do with numb body parts rather than anything subversive on screen. Yes the central issue could not be addressed head on given the social and political climate and we forgive it for this, but it simply runs out of steam, and that we can't forgive it for.

Kubrick may add touches here and there but they're embellishments on what is ultimately a dull and boring film. The cast do the bulk of the work here and maybe having seen it, it's no wonder why audiences don't instantly bring it to mind when Stanley is mentioned. For many directors this would the pinnacle of their career and indeed, Lolita is in no way a bad film (despite my attack on it here), but it relies too much on the notoriety of Nabokov's book to generate a hype and controversy that isn't portrayed on screen.

Worth watching? Maybe for film fans, but anyone who can't stand anything pre-Star Wars had best avoid it. Sorry teenage temptress but you'll have to use your charms elsewhere 

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