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Lolita

Lolita

Drama · Romance · 1997

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

Movie details

Lolita

“A forbidden love. An unthinkable attraction. The ultimate price.”

1997 Drama · Romance 2h 17m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Lolita?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Adrian Lyne

Written by

Stephen Schiff

Jeremy Irons

Jeremy Irons

Humbert Humbert

Dominique Swain

Dominique Swain

Dolores "Lolita" Haze

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith

Charlotte Haze

Frank Langella

Frank Langella

Clare Quilty

Suzanne Shepherd

Suzanne Shepherd

Miss Pratt

Keith Reddin

Keith Reddin

Reverend Rigger

Erin J. Dean

Erin J. Dean

Mona

Court is in session

Put Lolita on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.