Volume CXXXIII, Number 14 February 13, 2004

Lolita is delicious Valentine's treat for cinephiles
DAVIN MICHAELS
COLUMNIST

Valentine's Day is about spending time with a loved one. For those movie lovers out there, it is a holiday to embrace the DVD player and the favorite films that help to make our lives more pleasurable.

This Valentine's Day, the Bowdoin Film Society has decided to put a little unusual flavor into the chocolate hearts. Last year, Harold and Maude (1971), a wonderfully bizarre film about a relationship between a young boy and an elderly woman, was the film of choice. This year, to preserve the continuity of such peculiar relationships, the society brings Lolita (1962), a film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's brilliant and disturbing portrayal of a pedophile's obsession with an adolescent girl.

The film was directed by the great Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Eyes Wide Shut (1999)). For those who know Kubrick and his astonishingly impressive work and career as a film director, it seems very fitting that he should accomplish the task of making something like Lolita into a film. It is a beautiful, distressing piece that aligns much of its sympathies with the middle-aged narrator of the story, Humbert Humbert (James Mason). This character tells the story of how he rents a room in the house of Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters), where he meets the object of his affection and obsession: the 14-year-old Dolores "Lolita" Haze (Sue Lyon).

Mrs. Haze falls in love with Humbert, while he falls deeper and deeper in love with her daughter. In order to stay in her house after his term is up, Humbert goes so far as to marry the mother, so that he may stay close to and monitor his pet and prize. From there, the story takes some awkward, bizarre, and intriguing twists and turns. What holds our attention the most in the film (and the book as well) is really Humbert's very explicit reflections on his love and the ways in which his imagination dwells on such a sexual fixation.

The cast is strong, including great performances from James Mason and Sue Lyon, in her screen debut. The hilarious and gifted Peter Sellers, however, is the one to watch for. Sellers, who also worked with Kubrick in Dr. Strangelove, plays the double role (his trademark as an actor) of Clare Quilty, TV writer, and Dr. Zempf, the high school psychologist. Interestingly enough, Kubrick decided to film this picture in black and white, just like Dr. Strangelove, and this most certainly adds a very tasteful, fascinating layer of intrigue to the story and how it is presented.

We encourage all to take the opportunity to invite a loved one to this excellent film and experience an unusual but exhilarating Valentine's Day. Lolita will be showing in Smith Auditorium of Sills Hall on Friday and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. It is sponsored by the Bowdoin Film Society. We hope you love it!

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