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LOLITA
UK, 1962, 153 minutes, Black and white.
James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, Sue Lyon.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Lolita was an important enough film in its time. Today its subject, the sexual obsession of an older man for a teenager, would be presented fairly frankly and directly. In the early 60's this was not possible. What Lolita lacks in frankness, it makes up for in subtlety. It is a very well made film from a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. (Other film versions of Nabokov's work include Laughter in the Dark (1969); King, Queen, Knave (1973).
Lolita is interesting in retrospect because of Kubrick's subsequent work. Dr. Strangelove followed in 1963; 2001 A Space Odyssey in 1968 and A Clockwork Orange in 1971. In Lolita, Kubrick explores man and his freedom, man in modern society, especially American society, and he explores guilt and deception. James Mason is effective as Humbert Humbert in his obsession. Shelley Winters gives one of her earlier versions of an American mom. Peter Sellers, who was to play three roles in Dr. Strangelove, is excellent as the poet Quilty (and appears in several disguises). This was Sue Lyon's first film.
There was a more frank version in 1998 by Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, 9 ½ Weeks, An Indecent Proposal) with Jeremy Irons as Humbert and Dominique Swain as Lolita. Frank Langella is a sinister Quilty and Melanie Griffiths is Lolita’s mother.
1. How do you rate this film in terms of excellence? Why? What was the final emotional impact of the film? Was this enhanced by the structure of the film - the denouement at the beginning? How intricate in its structure?
2. How did the film create its atmosphere?
3. Comment on the value of Humbert's narration and his diary?
4. How humorous was the film? Why? Was it a satire - of situations, personalities?
5. Commentators note the mythical nature of the film: the maiden, the prince-rescuer, ogre, witch, confrontation of good with perversity. How did the characters illustrate this? How did their interactions illustrate fairy stories and mythical treatments?
6. How sympathetically was the obsession treated? Was this favourable for the film or not?
7. Humbert - did he make sense in his background of divorce and academic drifting? What kind of a person was he by the time he arrived at the Hayes' home? His experiences at the Hayes' home, e.g. at the drive-in, helping Lolita, helping Charlotte, his response to Charlotte? Why did he undertake the marriage? The nature of his pursuit of Lolita, the trip, taking her from school? What kind of love did he have for her, did it change? His response to her flight from him?
8. Humbert and Quilty - did the film show their interaction well?
9. What kind of person was Lolita - what did she stand for? Did Sue Lyon's performance portray the ambivalence of Lolita as innocent and seductive?
10. Charlotte - what kind of woman was she? Did you like her at all?
11. What were the principal values explored in this film? How well were they done? In view of the complexities of discussion, do you agree that this is a great film or not?
12. Details of Humbert's collapse: The importance of the sequence at the hospital when he searched her out and he was considered mad? How much was he at peace when he finally found her and she was married? His wanting to support her? How genuine were his tears when he left her? Why did he murder Quilty? Comment on the impact of his murder of Quilty: the first time - with his searching for Quilty and Quilty under those sheets, the importance of the table tennis game, the pursuit of Quilty and his judging of him, his shooting him through the Gainsborough picture etc.? How ironic was this at the beginning and mystifying? How believable and credible at the end? The importance of the postscript about Humbert's death? Was the character well developed and did we understand how he ticked?
13. Humbert and Quilty? Their meeting each other casually at the initial dance? What were the implications of their conversation when Quilty posed as the policeman? what effect did this have on both of them? Quilty's disguising himself as a psychologist? How did he torture Humbert? The importance of the phone call and the whole breaking of the relationship with Lolita? How did this change audience attitudes towards Quilty - from possibly laughing at him to loathing of him? Did this make him more of victim than he was at the beginning?
14. Lolita as innocent and seductive: What sequences illustrated best her innocence? The American schoolgirl with the schoolgirl preoccupations? Which sequences best illustrated Lolita as seductive? Her initial appearance? Her leading Humbert on? Her sexual relationship with him? Her playing behind his back? How American was Lolita? Was this important? Would she grow up to be like her mother? What attracted her to Quilty? Why did she leave Humbert? How grown up was she from the time that we first saw her? Could Humbert have loved her as she grew older?
15. Charlotte: As a widow? Needing love? An American mother? Her flirting and her loneliness? Her pseudo-culture? Her capacity for loving Humbert, and being hurt by him? How irritating was she? What instances were the most important for communicating this? How hurt was she by reading Humbert's diary? How plausible was her death? Would Humbert have really murdered her? Did you like her at all?
16. Visual techniques: the mist and Quilty's castle; New York and New Hampshire settings; the range of environment of the U.S.