VeganPhilosopher t1_j221r2c wrote on December 29, 2022 at 2:13 AM

Lolita (1997) turns innocent 12 yr old Dolores into a teenage seductress who prays on poor Humbert Humbert

junglelala t1_j228jyu wrote on December 29, 2022 at 3:03 AM

That change was very disappointing. I know the book is often misunderstood, but that was a disturbing take on the filmmaker's part.

FatherPot t1_j226joi wrote on December 29, 2022 at 2:48 AM

The Kubrick version was awful as well, but that could’ve been attributed to Hollywood censorship of the time. As a work of literature, good lord, such a great novel.

VendettaFuriosa t1_j25s9bd wrote on December 29, 2022 at 9:31 PM

I don't agree. I consider that movie a great film that I've seen several times, and I've read the book at least a couple of times. Lolita starts out being a temptress, she was never innocent, that everything has gotten out of her hand is something else. Humbert would never have started anything if she hadn't shown a bit of intent, and it's worth noting that I'm talking about what happens in the story, good or bad. She always used him, first to escape from her mother and then to get his money and so... she was never innocent. And Lyne's movie is great and totally faithful to the book.

VeganPhilosopher t1_j25vsrf wrote on December 29, 2022 at 9:55 PM

I think we have a difference of interpretation.

I dont believe Humbert is perfectly honest to the court with everything he says about Dolores. I believe he interpreted things as "sexual"" because of his perversion. I dont see Humbert as a reliable narrator.

At the very least, she is older in the film than in the book. Also, I think her outfits were a little too revealing, but I'm not too privy to French fashion.

VendettaFuriosa t1_j2awa68 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 10:19 PM

It's not Rashomon, so we're going to have to assume that everything Humbert says is what really happened, and he, for good or bad, did nothing with her, no matter how interested he was, until she kissed him when he left the summer camp where she had already lost whatever innocence she had left. And all that, if I remember correctly, also happened in the novel. That's why I disagree with your first comment. And I understand that we are not judging the characters, but if there was any change between the novel and the movie, which there was not.