10. Lolita
The novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov has been adapted for film twice; once by Kubrick in 1962 with James Mason and again in 1997 by Adrian Lyne, starring Jeremy Irons. Kubrick's version was criticized for not capturing the magic of Nabokov's iconic book, the script Kubrick was given by Nabokov was too lengthy and novel-like. Censorship meant that the film couldn't carry the erotic weight the novel was famed for. What may have made Lyne's later version more successful was the fact that his script gave insight into Humbert's early experience with tragedy which seemed to explain his infatuation with the young Lolita: he was chasing an ideal and trying to retain his lost love. For that reason I will focus on the later adaptation. In the film we have Humbert Humbert, a British professor who comes to the USA to pursue a teaching job. He rents a room owned by Charlotte Haze whose fourteen year old daughter attracts Humberts attention immediately. As his live in land lady, Charlotte falls for Humbert and they get married, which for our protagonist is a perfect way to stay close to the girl he lusts after. His affection turns into obsession which does not go unnoticed by his wife. Charlotte reads his scandalous journal and in distress runs out into the street only to get run over by a car. Humbert interprets her tragic death as a chance to finally be together with his Lolita and this is when the road-trip commences.
Where Are They Going? A sense of movement in instilled in the viewer from the opening where we see Humbert in a car, he is driving erratically and a gun slides from side to side on the back seat. We then fade into his memory and essentially start at the beginning. The road trip will begin again when Humbert picks Lolita up from summer camp with the excuse that she needs to come home to be with her ill mother. They set out on a cross country road trip, moving from one motel to the next, where their relationship becomes increasingly disturbing. Lolita coaxes Humbert into raising her allowance, she spends most of her time in the car sucking on jaw breakers and reading magazines. Lolita, who after all is just a kid, grows bored and craves independence. A shocking scene occurs when the pair, both lying naked on a bed, begin an argument over money that culminates in an explosive outburst by Lolita in which she demands payment for her sexual favors. Whats more, along the way they are followed by a playwright and paedophile Clare Quilty who wouldn't mind a slice of the fourteen year old himself. Quilty eventually succeeds in luring Lo away from Humbert. The story ends tragically; the road offered temporary flight for our unconventional lovers but the law and the reality of their illicit relationship caught up.