Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Kubrick's Lolita

Finally filling in some gaps of my Kubrick movies. Started off with his 1962 "Lolita." I went in expecting an interesting film depiction of the book's famous "unreliable narrator" mechanic and instead got a scathing condemnation of the permissive life style of the 1950's that would burgeon into the free love movement of the 1960's. And it has archetypes and attitudes skewered in a way that make it relevant to today.

The way Kubrick altered Lolita's character is absolutely chilling. She goes from the victim of an obsessive unhinged older man to a sociopathic manipulator, incapable of true affection. He even strongly hints it began before Humbert arrived, beginning with the mother's treatment of her. It's going to take me a bit to unpack my thoughts on the film, but the acting was amazing. James Mason and Peter Sellers were excellent choices. The Easter egg of the Spartacus reference (his previous film) was amusing.

Next up are the four films he made before Spartacus: Fear and Desire, Killer's Kiss, The Killing, and Paths of Glory.

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