Not a movie you want to see

Rating: 3/10 (30 January 2000)

It's a pity audiences tend to think of this movie as a "great" movie. Having a very able actor playing the lead role (Spacey, soon to get the Oscar he deserve), as well as writing a half decent script and giving it to a imaginative director just doesn't make a movie "great" or merely "good". It takes much more than that. If your really taken by this movie just have a peek at the original, Kubrick version, of Lolita - almost the same story as this film, but quite a different affair. Kubrick doesn't only use better actors, better script and music, but he stays true to his cause, something Mendes simply cannot claim to have done.
I will not give the film's plot away, but for those who've seen it, just think how unlikely is the ending, and how the director is really not interested in making any kind of statement by choosing such a soft, "mellow" sort of an ending. Sure, that's probably far from the original scripted ending, but when you're young, having mighty "DreamWorks" as your production company makes you do all those concession you promised yourself you'll never make.
If you're still not convinced, just think of the opening scene - which is repeated, as a sort of a symptom, later in the movie. Was it necessary, or is this scene just plain redundant? Having said that regarding both the ending & opening scenes, you may think it's a very flawed film. Well, you'll be right, but you've seen worse coming out of Hollywood recently. Please see Kubrick's "Lolita" for a good film on the very same subject, but one which is original, funny & brilliantly directed, yet much, much more disturbing than the "ground braking" American Beauty.