Lolita

The absolute genius part of Kubrick's version of Nabokov's imfamous novel is that the director doesn't explain the main character's paedophilia. In the book there's something about how his first love died when they were both young adolescents which naturally froze his mental image of the opposite sex. In the film there is no such neat pseudo-psychological justification for his 'appetite' which raises the uncomfortable possibility that perhaps James Mason's British professor is not naturally a paedophile and that Lolita could 'turn' any man into a 'kiddy fiddler'. The actress who plays Lolita (Sue Lyon) does appear to have a woman's head on a girl's body which is disturbing. Kubrick brilliantly plays up the dark comedy of the book, which is the only sensible way to stage it, as well as nailing the allegory of old Europe's obsession with the pop culture of the precocious young country across the pond. America acts all young and naive but totally has Europe on a short leash. What a prick-tease.