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Recent pressures for censorship of this second film version of
Vladimir
Nabokov's novel (first filmed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962) were obviously
inspired by the subject matter. But the film's attractive elements may
have also sparked concern.
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While the quest by some adults for sexual gratification with minors is
real, when an actor like Jeremy Irons portrays such an adult, in the
fictional world of this film, the character's component of touching
sensitivity can be disturbing. In addition, the story is told through the
lenses of top lighting cameraman Howard Atherton, to the accompaniment of
an exquisite Ennio Morricone score. By concentrating on the film's
attractive qualities, and wondering about the possible seductiveness of
this veneer, something may be overlooked: the vital role played by Clare
Quilty (Frank Langella) in this version's aim at providing a moral balance
to its story.
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We should first consider the contribution of Jeremy Irons as Humbert
Humbert. No matter what role he plays, Jeremy Irons is intrinsically
attractive. And nobody suffers from passion like Jeremy Irons. Just as
Bill Murray has cornered the market in portrayals of amoral seediness,
Jeremy Irons remains unchallenged for creating characters enmeshed in
tragic or obsessive relationships, and has never spared us (or himself)
with his roles in films such as M. Butterfly, Damage,
Dead Ringers, or Swann in Love.
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The film sets up the derivation of Humbert's obsession and the mechanics
of fetishism in a sequence detailing the 14-year-old's first infatuation
with a girl the same age during an idyllic summer holiday in 1921 (i.e.,
before the gathering storm in Europe manifested itself). A couple of
years after the war ends, Humbert arrives in New England to take up a
teaching post and must seek accommodation with Charlotte Haze (Melanie
Griffith). One look at Charlotte's daughter Dolores, or "Lolita"
(Dominique Swain), and the old associations start up anew in Humbert, who
surrenders to his doomed course.
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There are a couple of snakes in this New World Eden; life cannot be the
uninterrupted pastoral Humbert is prepared to not just wish for, but
scheme and lie to get. The hazy golden summer of 1921 is gone forever,
and New World 14-year-olds are precocious gum-snapping bobby-soxers, bold
and bratty, devoted to the Hit Parade and comic books instead of the
traditions of music and literature in Humbert's old world.
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The second serpent is the force in Humbert he recognises but cannot face.
Incarnated by Clare Quilty, this Mr. Hyde must ultimately be destroyed, as
Humbert seeks to purge his sins. In Stephen Schiff's adaptation of
Nabokov's novel, Frank Langella as Quilty has a death scene to die for;
Schiff's treatment gives Quilty a lengthy operatic demise which connects
his previous shadowy appearances and makes the character's purpose clear.
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Director Lyne foreshadows this end by giving Quilty the full Demon King
treatment, associating him with darkness, lightning and rolling thunder.
Quilty is introduced, at the hotel where Humbert plans to consummate his
passion, with a glimpse of a summer suit and co-respondent shoes, as the
unseen master of a little dog which attracts Lolita. Next, Humbert thinks
he hears telling comments from Quilty, sitting on the hotel porch in
shadow cut by glaring flashes, like lightning, from a bug-killer
electrocuting the victims drawn to its beacon. Quilty's presence
continues to haunt Humbert, as a silhouette against a window, the big brim
of a dark hat, or a voice on the radio, like the nagging voice of
conscience.
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Later, some time after the mysterious disappearance of Lolita, the stunned
Humbert learns from her that she left him for Quilty, but left Quilty in
turn because of his devotion to filming sex acts between minors. When
Humbert, destroyed and mad, tracks Quilty down, his aim is revenge; but
its target is his own evil twin, the embodiment of Humbert's fears about
the nature of his obsession.
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The need to visualise Humbert confronting and wrestling with his demon
dictates the length and style of the showdown with Quilty. The struggle
travels through the baroque interiors of Quilty's mansion, scene of past
orgies, with Langella naked but for a silk dressing gown as the character
tries every technique of righteouness, seduction and distraction to escape
his fate.
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Lolita, like Fatal Attraction or Indecent
Proposal, shows that Lyne can be more than equal to his material.
For Jeremy Irons, it represents probably the most complex acting challenge
since Dead Ringers a decade ago, and one again successfully
negotiated.
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Details
Lolita, by Samuel Goldwyn 1997.
Director: Adrian Lyne.
Screenplay: Stephen Schiff.
Cinematography: Howard Atherton.
Score: Ennio Morricone.
Production Design: Jon Hutman.
Costume Design: Judianna Makovsky. 1921 costumes by Jenny Beavan.
Cast: Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Frank Langella, Dominique Swain.
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Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Shane Lewis. "To Die For: 'Lolita'." M/C Reviews 21 Apr. 99.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/lolita.html>.
Chicago style:
Shane Lewis, "To Die For: 'Lolita'," M/C Reviews 21 Apr. 99,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/lolita.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Shane Lewis. (1999) To die for: 'Lolita'. M/C Reviews 21 Apr. 99.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/lolita.html> ([your date of access]).
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![[image]](http://movies.yahoo.com/images/movies/guide/01673201.jpg)