A 1962 black and white film directed by Stanley Kubrick. The movie is a retelling of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita. The story follows Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged literature professor, who becomes infatuated with the 14 year old Dolores Haze, or as he affectionately calls “Lolita”. Humbert moves to a small town and rents a room in Charlotte Haze’s house, Lolita’s mother. In an attempt to stay in her daughter’s life Humbert marries Charlotte, but after her accidental death, Humbert takes custody of Lolita and embarks on a cross country road trip with her. Humbert’s infatuation and obsession for Lolita grows and he begins to sexually abuse her while taking a fatherly role in her life simultaneously. In this rendition of the novel the story seems to be more “black and white” (no pun intended). Kubrick’s adaptation dulls more of the explicit elements of the story that make it such a compelling work. In his film he focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of the characters’ relationships more closely. Kubrick even ages up Lolita from the young age of 12 in the novel to 14 further taking away from the nature of the story. The film received mixed reviews upon its release but has since become a significant work in Kubrick’s filmography, noted for its daring subject matter and compelling performances. Although Kubrick benefited from the movie Nabokov was said to be deeply disappointed with the portrayal of his work. I believe this adaptation does a disservice to Nabokov’s classic literature. The novel’s status as a classic stems from its intricate and controversial examination of pedophilia through the distorted perspective of its narrator, Humbert. Without the complexities of the plot the story falls flat and becomes just about the fact the Humbert is a 40 year old man raping a 14 year old girl.