Review – Lolita

When this Kubrick classic first came out in 1961, the ads asked the question, “How did they ever make a movie out of Lolita?” After all the intervening years and multiple viewings, I confess I’m still a little mystified by that very issue. I mean really. A movie in which a child molester is the hero? Somehow it just doesn’t seem like the sort of thing Hollywood would usually want to touch. But touch it they did, with outstanding results. Some Nabokov fans argue that the film version doesn’t live up to the source novel, and to be sure a few liberties have been taken here and there (in particular, the title character in the book was considerably younger than actress Sue Lyon appears to be in the movie). However, Nabokov did write the screenplay used for this production, so perhaps that should be at least some small comfort. Further, what the movie lacks in plot nuance it more than makes up for with Stanley Kubrick’s excellent visual sense and Peter Sellers’ outstanding performance as quirky Claire Quilty. Despite (or perhaps at least in part because of) the outré theme, this rare piece of vintage cinema is worth at least a look (and probably more; I notice new things every time I see it). Buy the disc