First thing to note: I haven't read the Nabokov. Yes, arguably it's a big gaping hole in what I would like to believe is my well-readness, but there it is. No Nabokov yet, but that should change. Second thing: I haven't seen the Kubrick film. The Adrian Lyne film is the first version of the story I've seen, for good or bad. This movie then exists in a sort of vacuum for me. While bits and pieces of the story seep in just from living in this world, these fragments are disconnected and distorted, without real reference to their origins or meaning. Seeing this movie, then, brushes all this cultural debris aside: it's a complete thing, in many, many ways unlike and removed from the one-line synopses.
I suppose I'm left with talking about my impressions of the film rather than how closely it follows the novel, or how this one follows the previous one. So: this is a good movie, pulls you into the unfolding story and puts you in Humbert's obsessions, is able to evoke a certain sympathy for his situation as well as horror. It's a good film.
Humbert's interior world is brought into view in any number of ways. The most obvious is the occassional voice-over, necessary for this sort of film to explain and delve into his mind, and all rendered through Nabokov's prose. It works well, and adds to the poetry of this film. We also listen to the mistakes in hearing Humbert experiences as he moves through the everyday world, in particular his interview with Beardsly Prep School. Other touches are the gauzy sunlight and filtered photography as Humbert sees Lolita -- yes, cliches, but well constructed ones -- and the moths dying in the electrified bug trap as Humbert talks to Clare Quilty for the first time, particular horror in the mundane.
We also have a first rate cast. Jeremy Irons is fantastic as a man held in this nymphette's power. He shows desperation, helplessness, obsessive devotion. It's all in the eyes and in small gestures. (According to at least one review I've read, this film doesn't go much into Humbert's cunning, as depicted in the novel. This may be true: to a large extent, Irons's Humbert is swept along by events, in some ways a spectator to his actions, truly helpless.) Dominique Swain is also good, depicting both childish playfulness and petulance, as well as growing realization of her power over Humbert, and perhaps a bit of cruelty. It's surprising this is her first acting job. (Lyne apparently chose her after seeing an amateur tape submission for the role: Swain reads lines from the novel, in between shooing away the family dog from jumping on the dining room table.) Add to this a creepy Frank Langella as Quilty and Melanie Griffith as the mom.
Anyway, "Lolita" will be shown on Showtime this Sunday. It'll also open formally in theaters sometime in late September, according to this week's issue of "Time Out".
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