Petulia

Bold and innovative in its use of flashbacks, ellipses, and, most uniquely, flash-forwards - probably the first use of that technique in mainstream narrative film - Petulia (1968) tells the powerful story of two disintegrating marriages and the flowering of a love affair set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam war (waged on television screens), a potent counterpoint to the emotional chaos and violence in the characters' lives. This Richard Lester masterwork is an amazing and continuously fascinating fracturing of narrative structure that simultaneously succeeds in maintaining a clear and forward momentum to culminate in an emotionally and intellectually satisfying catharsis. A film way ahead of its time with exceptional performances by all the cast, especially Shirley Knight in a heartbreaking turn as George C. Scott's devastated wife and Richard Chamberlain in the unlikely role of Julie Christie's abusive husband. A vastly underrated, overlooked film, in my opinion.

Critically-lauded drama from fashionable filmmaker Richard Lester is certainly handsome enough, although it doesn't initially appear to leave its audience with much but a sour aftertaste. A divorced, frustrated doctor--who has taken up with an exasperating, unhappily married young woman named Petulia--quickly realizes this new direction is adding no particular meaning to his life. Choppy, infuriating picture seems to be leading somewhere but never does; admirers of the film say this is precisely Lester's point, that his tying the story in loose, inconsistent knots is his idea of symbolism. George C. Scott has some amazing moments, Julie Christie is smartly-attired and attractive, Shirley Knight and Richard Chamberlain try hard in underwritten roles, but the movie is pretentiously off-kilter. Lester underlines his scenes with a modern sort of cynicism--American cattiness--that comes off as unfunny and rude rather than satirical. However, the design and conception of the film is startling, and memories of it may sneak up on you days after seeing it. **1/2 from ****

I stumbled across "Petulia" late one night somewhere on cable and quickly became entranced by the mixed up, alarming and sensitive story. Julie Christie and George C. Scott are amazing in this tale of bad marriages and mistakes. Richard Chamberlain, who is chilling to look at no matter what the role, plays the slightly-insane prison-warden husband of Petulia so well it makes your hair stand-on-end with disturbance. Lester's cinematography is amazing - manipulating the scenic San Francisco landscape to its diabolical best - even better than Hitchcock in "Vertigo". It especially captures the essence of the city in its heyday of hippie-drugged-ness, adding another layer to the film's drama. The quick cross-cutting by Lester adds to the disturbing stream-of-consciousness and rich visual chemistry of the film. The 1960's drug culture poignantly juxtaposes the upright middle-class marriages of the main characters, adding color and quirkiness to the already-strange montage. I especially enjoyed George C. Scott in sport coat & tie on the floor of the Fillmore dancing to the Grateful Dead. Petulia is the cross-over character: a free spirit with a tuba in white maribou, being shut up in a stuffy mansion in Marin County, with an abusive, plastic husband. "Petulia" is a wonderful, alarming, disturbing gem of a film that has soaring hope and chilling visuals. Not a film to be missed.

I saw this film when it opened and recently bought the video and watched it again.

I remembered being very moved by the characters and the pairing of Julie Christie and George C Scott. Christie was so young and Scott was also still quite young as well. They had great chemistry. I didn't know that Shirley Knight was nominated for an award for her role. She's very good. Her scene with Scott where she's trying to appease him and he loses his temper is electric. She says more in her look, using her eyes to convey her hurt and confusion, than most actors say in too many words.

Julie Christie has always had a way of getting under your skin. She is able to make you care for her (a lot like she did in "Darling") despite the fact that her character initially comes off as flaky or "kooky." It starts out light and amusing then turns dark and insightful. I remembered this movie for years until I was able to buy the video. It is very 60's in sensibility. So, if you weren't around during that period, see this movie. It captures the sixties in way few films have done as well.

San Francisco looks beautiful in 1967.

I've never seen a film which captured the confusion of love gone wrong like this. The kaleidoscopic editing can be a distraction but it also helps create the torment of the main character as his life slowly ceases to make sense. Stunningly photographed by Nicolas Roeg, and a clear influence on his later BAD TIMING, in which the neurosis, present in all the characters of PETULIA, blossoms into full-blown psychosis. What this film has over Roeg's is a sharper compassion and a satiric portrait of late summer-of-love San Francisco which feels accurate and quite ahead of its time. Disillusion has already set in. George C Scott is majestic, and Julie Christie goes from irritating in the "BRINGING up BABY for the Pepsi Generation" opening sequences, to ultimately moving and affecting. The ending, where she goes under the gas (to give birth, but it feels more permanent than that), is as oddly chilling as Lester's earlier HOW I WON THE WAR (which ends with Michael Crawford eating a biscuit, and manages to make this terrifying). What can I say? If you have time and sympathy for people who are a bit screwed up, PETULIA may speak to you.