March 5: Lolita

Lolita (1997)

Director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction) took everyone by surprise with this faithful adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial literary classic Lolita. Lyne takes a decidedly more serious approach than Kubrick’s version but still retains some of the subtle satiric humor. Visiting professor Humbert Humbert (Jeremy Irons) becomes instantly infatuated, in love with the underage daughter (Dominique Swain) of his new landlady (Melanie Griffith), a lonely, brassy woman whom Humbert will eventually wed to be close to his girlish idyll. The film features a beautiful, haunting score by Ennio Morricone. After post-production was complete, Lolita ran into unexpected hurdles due to its taboo subject matter, with virtually every major distributor turning it down before it premiered on the Showtime network, then subsequently enjoyed limited theatrical runs in Los Angeles and New York.

“The film’s master stroke is its understanding that this is Humbert’s story, told in his own lyrical voice… Jeremy Irons creates one of the great, fearless screen performances… He is calculating, romantic, eventually soul-sick with his own love… Melanie Griffith is ideally cast as the annoying, widowed Charlotte. Dominique Swain is extraordinary as Lolita…Rich beyond what anyone could have expected, the film repays repeated viewings.” – Caryn James, The New York Times

Marc Edward Heuck discusses Adrian Lyne’s Lolita on the New Beverly blog.

Kim Morgan discusses Adrian Lyn’s Lolita on the New Beverly blog.