This is such a weird movie, mainly due to the story it is based on. I never read the book and had only vaguely been aware of the plot. Tonally, I also didn’t expect this to have so many funny moments as it does. There moments played for pure comedy that are fantastic, like early on when he touches the urn with the ashes in them or when Humbert is helping the bellhop set up the cot in the hotel room while Dolores sleeps. These moment do not gel with the rest of the film at all. I think the humor is in there to undercut some of the grossness of the plot and of the male characters in the film. Everyone acts big and in that way it lessens the creepiness everyone has especially Humbert. Humbert Humbert is so creepy and lascivious. He looks like he is drooling for Lolita the entire film like a rabid dog. The photography is really beautiful and was my favorite part of the film. Kubrick is able to make ordinary things look special. When you see Lolita for the first time, it’s hard not to be pulled into her. I think it’s the glasses she has on — they are something Audrey Hepburn would wear. I also was really taken with the editing. there are moments where the film smash cuts into different moments, that you feel propelled through the film. Peter Sellers is the best part of the cast, although he feels so superfluous to the actual story and is also such a super weirdo. The things he does in here make for an interesting Sellers character, but I wish I could see him in another movie. It is also obvious that this was a big influence on the Alicia Silverstone movie THE CRUSH. I kept thinking of that movie the entire time I was watching this. It was also so hard to watch this after just watching ALLEN V. FARROW.
