Lolita (1962)

Lolita (1962) is a darkly comic, disturbing melodrama about obsession, manipulation and moral collapse. Told largely through the lens of Humbert Humbert, a cultured but deeply troubled European literature professor, the film follows his arrival in small‑town America, his calculated courtship of widowed landlady Charlotte Haze, and—most shockingly—his sexual and emotional fixation on her fourteen‑year‑old daughter, Dolores “Lolita” Haze. Humbert marries Charlotte to remain close to Lolita, and after Charlotte’s accidental death he takes Lolita on a cross‑country odyssey that alternates between furtive tenderness, coercion and jealousy as Lolita drifts toward peers and other men. A mysterious, theatrical figure named Clare Quilty hovers in the background and ultimately forces a violent reckoning. If you watch the film you should expect an unsettling blend of black humor, psychological drama and courtroom‑style confession: performances that range from restrained to flamboyant, a tense, ironic tone, and a narrative that alternates between wistful nostalgia and moral repulsion. The movie is provocative and often uncomfortable by design—it probes the narrator’s rationalizations and the destructive consequences of predation—so viewers are likely to feel conflicted sympathy, outrage, and bleak fascination. Content warnings: the plot centers on an adult’s sexual relationship with a minor and includes manipulative and exploitative behavior that many find disturbing.

Actors: James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Runtime: 153 min

Genres: Crime, Drama, Romance

7.5 /10 79 /100 7.5 /10 7.6 /10