In lieu of a Roman Polanski tribute

I tried to have a Roman Polanski marathon the other day, but sadly the copy of The Pianist I kept receiving in the mail was borked. Thus, I didn't feel right having a marathon and excluding a major work. I had Repulsion, Knife in the Water, Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, and others ready, but this one movie, one that I still haven't seen, kept me from my marathon. So, to commemorate recent events, I decided to change the nature of the Roman Polanski marathon.

Lolita was the second masterpiece in the neverending (well, until his death) streak of Kubrick films. Something about the movie never clicked with me. Many people consider Kubrick films to be cold and detached, with Barry Lyndon getting the blunt of this criticism, but Lolita always seemed restrained. Perhaps this is because of the Hays Code. The Hays Code was the informal name for the MPAA ethical codes of the 1930s and on. Back then, nudity was forbidden, along with mentions of homosexuality, explicit violence, and sexuality rising to levels higher than one passionate kiss. As a result, I guess, Kubrick had to withhold himself in adapting the novel to screen. One of the more controversial moments in the film is when the main protagonist, James Mason as Professor Humbert, is on the verge of making love with the caretaker of Lolita. As he is kissing Lolita's mother, Humbert looks over at a picture of Lolita on the nightstand. The general idea is that he is imagining Lolita as he is kissing and, eventually, making love to the mother.

Despite all this, I always forget much of the movie. Peter Sellers does a fine job in his multiple character role, as does James Mason, but Sue Lyon, as Lolita, is forgettable. Perhaps it is because she is playing just an ordinary kid, for the most part. Rather than the other two characters in the next two films, she's more of a prop for the film than someone to empathize with.

Leon, or is it Leon: The Professional, featured the young Natalie Portman as the sidekick to a hitman. Growing up in a dysfunctional environment has certainly impacted this child. Portman, as Matilda, wears skimpy clothing and smokes, despite being 12 years old. She has a crush on her mentor, Leon, and tries several times to seduce him. Leon resists, refuses, and fathers her the best he can. This romantic subplot is not fully explored, and as a result seems more exploitative than anything, but because Natalie Portman gives a great performance, she's at least memorable. 


But the best child role in this mini marathon is, of course, Iris. Iris, with the street name "Easy," is played by the young and talented Jodie Foster. Here is a girl who is at once confident and at the same time insecure. She lives on the street with Harvey Keitel as her pimp until taxi driver Travis Bickle comes along to disrupt the order of life. Scorsese films aren't known for interesting women roles, with the exception of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore since the title character is a women, but Iris, mostly due to the writing and Foster's talent, is perhaps the most interesting Lolita character in these three films.