MOVIE · 1962

Lolita

ComedyCrimeDramaRomance154 min

A middle-aged literature professor becomes fixated on Dolores “Lolita” Haze, an adolescent girl living with her mother, and he maneuvers his way into the household to stay close to her. What begins as private obsession quickly turns into a tense arrangement built on deceit, jealousy, and control, as he tries to hide his motives while managing Lolita’s volatile mother. When other people begin to intrude—most notably the mocking, unsettling presence of Quilty—the situation grows harder to contain. James Mason and Sue Lyon anchor a story that follows desire curdling into manipulation, with each attempt to keep hold of Lolita pulling Humbert deeper into humiliation and danger.