I’m a movie watcher, not a book reader so my point of view may be a little different.
BUT…what makes the story for me is that you come to sympathise for Humbert even though you know it is wrong…and that is very disturbing. It throws your whole moral standing on it’s ear. It makes him look like the victim. And I think that’s great stories do…they make you question what you thought was right. You might come to the conclusion that your originally thought…but you at least considered another possibility no matter how brief.
Especially the jeremy irons version. You’re lying if you don’t think dominque swain was sexy…right or wrong. And you’re lying if you didn’t feel pathos for humbert.