Lolita begins emphatically, with an engrossing scene between two heavyweight actors as James Mason turns up invited into Peter Seller's house.
Unfortunately, the film never lives up to it's electrifying opening and it's a constant downhill trek after that. The film sags and moors as it struggles to justify it's ridiculous plot turns and unbearable character.
The film has a hugely controversial premise, focusing on a professor's obsession with a 14 year old girl. As the film progresses and his desire for her increases, we never really understand why, his obsession is never duly justified or explained. Lolita seems to exude no magical qualities and the only conclusion is the professor must be a paedophile. The fact he never acts kind to anyone and turns to acts of cruelty and degradation doesn't help his cause.
Due to strict censoring, Stanley Kubrick, the director, could not include some of the scenes in the book which help to explain their relationship. Instead he must turn to innuendo and implied acts, though these never really have any effect. Obviously this wasn't Kubrick's fault, but it still falls to him that the film never truly reaches out to you.
Lolita is a film with no emotional backbone. It follows a deeply unlikeable character in a quest for something we don't ever want him to have. Who wants to see that?
Unfortunately, the film never lives up to it's electrifying opening and it's a constant downhill trek after that. The film sags and moors as it struggles to justify it's ridiculous plot turns and unbearable character.
The film has a hugely controversial premise, focusing on a professor's obsession with a 14 year old girl. As the film progresses and his desire for her increases, we never really understand why, his obsession is never duly justified or explained. Lolita seems to exude no magical qualities and the only conclusion is the professor must be a paedophile. The fact he never acts kind to anyone and turns to acts of cruelty and degradation doesn't help his cause.
Due to strict censoring, Stanley Kubrick, the director, could not include some of the scenes in the book which help to explain their relationship. Instead he must turn to innuendo and implied acts, though these never really have any effect. Obviously this wasn't Kubrick's fault, but it still falls to him that the film never truly reaches out to you.
Lolita is a film with no emotional backbone. It follows a deeply unlikeable character in a quest for something we don't ever want him to have. Who wants to see that?