Actually it is a much better film than expected. This 1997 film, directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jeremy Irons, Dominique Swain, Melanie Griffith and Frank Langella, could have been a disaster and to be honest in hindsight I prepared myself for it to be. This is not personal bias talking, speaking as someone who is not afraid to admit that Kubrick's debut 'Fear and Desire' was a shockingly bad misfire and that he didn't properly find his style until 'The Killing', with his first masterpiece being 'Paths of Glory'. Stanley Kubrick's 1962 'Lolita' film, while not one of the great director's best, even when comparatively downplayed, is a brave and worthy attempt and is a fascinating film that gets funnier, more layered, sensual and better with each viewing. Reviewed by TheLittleSongbird 7 / 10 Much better than expected, but a case of being more faithful not always equalling betterÄon't let the subject matter of Vladimir Nabokov's book put you off, it is a brilliant book and one of the most entertaining, thought-provoking, poignant and daring pieces of literature there is. It may just be a notch better than Kubrick's film, and for me personally, as an adaptation of the novel, it also rings more true. Another stronghold for the film in its dignity as an adaption of the novel, is Ennio Morricone's sweepingly romantic and classic score. More faithful to the novel, the film successfully achieves the great character nuance of the civilized and sophisticated Humbert Humbert, and the way he falls completely in love with such a obnoxious and difficult child, who's at the same time such an alluring, facetious and sexual creature. Tragedy in the sense that it dares more than Kubrick's film did (which I believe has nothing to do with the censorship in the 60ties), because director Lyne isn't interested in sexually or provocatively exploiting the relationship between Humbert (a marvelous Jeremy Irons) and Lolita/Dolores (Dominique Swain), he makes it sort of enigmatic, carefully lingering and beautiful. LOLITA by Adrian Lyne, was immediately and understandably compared to Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, and although I think Kubrick made a wonderful film, what I do think director Lyne's version does better, is the way it captures the tragedy of it all, instead of the comedy. Reviewed by EijnarAmadeus 10 / 10 Lyne outdoing Kubrick
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