Lolita

Lolita is currently streaming in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and OVID, and it rewards the patience it asks of you. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. 1,989 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Watch it for Jeremy Irons — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Put it on tonight on Amazon Prime Video and see for yourself.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Lolita earns its spot. Lolita trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. 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. Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain lead a cast that treats the material with real seriousness. Lolita came out in 1997. The performances in Lolita do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Drama fans who appreciate slow-burn storytelling will feel right at home with Lolita. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Jeremy Irons's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.