Petulia (1968)

Some reviewers have complained that PETULIA is a bit of a downer-- that it is a little too depressing to watch. But this movie is not supposed to make you feel good...it's supposed to make you think about life and relationships. Lead actress Julie Christie is superb as always and so is her costar, George C. Scott. In a supporting role, Richard Chamberlain adds an interesting element to the proceedings, as does Joseph Cotten in an extended cameo as his father. The film's jagged time line keeps its viewer on tenterhooks, wondering where Julie Christie's character will end up in this story about post-traumatic stress and recovery. Great, provocative cinema.

FELT I HAD TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE WONDERFUL,MYSTERIOUS,TOUCHING "PETULIA" DIRECTED BY THE GREAT RICHARD LESTER(WHO SHOULD HAVE WORKED MORE) WITH A CREW OF 'WIZARDS' LIKE CULT DIRECTOR NICOLAS ROEG IN CHARGE OF CINEMATOGRAPHY(AND WHAT CINEMATOGRAPHY!),TONY WALTON FOR COSTUMES AND DESIGNS ,DEAN TAVOULARIS (FROM APOCALYPSE NOW) IN CHARGE OF SETS,AND SET DRESSING,AND A HEART BREAKING MUSIC SCORE FROM 'MAESTRO' JOHN BARRY. WHAT SHALL I SAY? THAT ANYTIME I SHOW THIS FILM TO A FRIEND, THEY REMAIN SPEECHLESS AND BECOME FANS? THAT EVEN AFTER 43 YEARS,IT'S STILL TODAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME? THAT I SAW A FEW FILMS WHO COMPLETELY REPRODUCED SOME OF THE SAME MASTERFUL,UNFORGETTABLE ANGLES? THAT THE STORY IS SO POETIC AND SO INTENSE TO BE HAUNTING YOU FOR EVER? That Julie Christie IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTRESSES EVER&AFTER THIS FILM,IF SHE WON'T BE IN YOUR FAVORITE TOP 10 IT MEANS YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW NOTHING ABOUT REAL ACTING AND REAL STARS?SHE IS SO UNIQUE&GORGEOUS,YOU JUST WANNA SEE HER IN EVERY MOVIE(AND UNFORTUNATELY SHE HAS NOT MADE SO MANY: ALMOST ALL OF THEM EXCELLENT,UNFORGETTABLE FILMS, BUT VERY FEW!).GEORGE C. SCOTT IS ALSO ONE OF THE BEST ACTORS EVER,SO UNDERSTATED,YET SO INCREDIBLY PIERCING&THE SUPPORTING CAST,FROM Shirley Knight to Arthur Hill&GREAT Joseph Cotten(in a very Dark Role)IS OUT STANDING.Even Richard Chamberlain,here,looks almost coming from a SCOTT-FITZGERALD'S Novel, While,He MAKES YOU FORGET about all the TV SHOWS, And Soapy Mini-series,Playing here the Gorgeous,yet BRUTAL,Wealthy, Rebellious KID,with such a Charm, You'd be Expecting him to become the next Paul Newman. And I could go on: If you have not seen this Film,Please Make Your Self a Favor and Watch it! HIGHLY RATED Always,By every Single Top Critic,It's been(INEXPLICABLY) OVER LOOKED from many Audiences: It was ground breaking&INCREDIBLY Insightful,The Emotional 'CRESCENDO' OF JULIE CHRISTIE'S Puzzled Memory of Her Sad Life: A beautiful,yet Lonely Socialite,married to the American Dream, which Leads her instead to Such an Imperfect Life, Painfully Flawed by a Progressive Lack of Feelings,by anyone surrounding her, A Crowd that resembles a bit one Busy Red Carpet today,full of tragic People,Hooked on Superficiality,Incapable of Communicating,while an underneath Disturbing Violence is Spreading around.It's truly a Tragic Film,that Starts like an extremely Sophisticated Comedy, Slowly Descending into a Bitter End: What Life has just Left you with? Isolation,Incommunicability&Stuck in What you'd Only Hope It was a Nightmare,but it is truly your living,and you can't change it anymore,because its paths are Irreversible. ONE MORE NOTE: I am very Surprised,WHEN A LOT OF REVIEWERS on here,although loving the Movie, felt"Annoyed"or Confused by what I consider instead Genius Editing:It Empowers,with its Flash Forward's and Flash back's,the Narration to Such an Extent,Becoming Really one Of the Greatest Assets of this Film, which makes you almost 'See' The Film Through the Troubled Mind of Petulia, a Triumphant Tale That Unravels its Tragedy in a Romantic Drama, that is Cut like a Mystery Thriller:Keeping you always Guessing what It might have Happened ,and Once You get to know a Part of it, You still do not get to Know Why or How such an Horrific Event Could have been. Slowly,but Extremely Satisfyingly,Petulia Tells in Progression,the inevitable Ending, which is also a True Meditation on Life and Relationships,Existential and Social Regrets,making even more Poignant, this Insightful Story: It is a True Mystery what's Going On, that Keeps You Really Hooked Guessing, Until The Very End, where a Series of highly in Depth References,Become more and More Touching, Haunting The Audience, also,with the Help of the Extraordinary Sensibility Offered generously,by Julie Christie's Unforgettable Performance, about a Lonely Woman,Searching for Deeper meanings,for Tenderness,in an Alienated World Not Willing to grant anyone's a little more,or at least what such an Incredible Character would have deserved. Julie Christie is a "Miracle' in this Film, That Will Haunt you,if you just Allow to Follow this Clever,Sensational Film,Opening Your Mind First, and then Your Heart! You must see this Film, it's one of The Best ever made!

The 1960's were years of radical change, deliberate rebellion and outright discarding of many rules. This film called " Petulia " is one example of the deception of established but hidden lifestyles. It tells the story of Petulia Danner (Julie Christie) a young, fashionable, but very married woman with an extremely 'kookie' attitude to life. The inner burden she carries is difficult to reveal, so she masks it with a facade of erratic behavior. Among the various quirks she tries is attracting the attention of Archie Bollen (George C. Scott), a concerned doctor on the downside of a marriage. Interested, Bollen tries to understand Miss Danner, while adjusting his own life to the on-going divorce, the loss of his own kids and the knowledge that Patulia's jealous husband (Richard Chamberlain) is a rage-filled, physically abusive, spoiled rich man. Learning that Mr. Danner attacked and nearly killed his wife, Bollen must decided what to do with the on-going abuse. With a menagerie of 60's style rock bands and hippie, flower-child backgrounds, director Richard Lester, paints the movie with the addition of several cameo actors like Arthur Hill, Joseph Cotton, Howard Hesseman and Austin Pendleton. This is one film written by John Haase and Lawrence Marcos which well defines the sixties. ***

1968 was a remarkable year in the history of cinema. Films as Pasolini's "Teorema", Anderson's "if...." and Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", among others, reflected the times of sudden and often violent changes people were experiencing all over the world. "Petulia" is among those motion pictures, but it is obvious Warner Brothers executives did not realize what had director Richard Lester delivered, and handled the product badly, as the original trailer eloquently shows. I finally had the opportunity to see it after many years, since I saw it included in a list of best films, in James Monaco's book "American Film Now". "Petulia" (based on the novel by John Haase, "Me and the Arch Kook Petulia") touches neuralgic issues of difficult times in the United States in an oblique manner, not to avoid them, but because its center is the title character played by Julie Christie (excellent as usual): hippie culture, racial conflicts, Vietnam, drugs, illegal immigration, the intrusion of technology in the bedroom, and middle-class betrayal before the reign of so-called "savage capitalism", all appear as variables in the drama of a young woman abused by her husband. The script of "Petulia" is a guide to moderation and restraint: the film does not emphasize nor is it redundant, but paints all those aspects as integral parts of the portrait of a British woman trapped in (and adapted to) the life of her rich and influential in-laws, and whose intent of rupture is as fragile, fragmented and banal as her personal structure. This is told in a most innovative way for its time, which makes it more regrettable that the film was handled as a pop extravaganza, when it was an innovative and puzzling product with a structure that demanded a more intellectual participation from the audience; and with an organic use of the flash-forward technique (proposed by its editor, Antony Gibbs), an anticipation device that would become common practice in later years (it is interesting to note that five years later the cinematographer of "Petulia", Nicolas Roeg, would direct Julie Christie in the horror drama "Don't Look Now", which contains a scene film editors often mention as an outstanding example of the flash-forward technique, a sex scene inter-cut with takes of the following scene, edited by Graeme Clifford). For many who only think of Richard Lester as the maker of The Beatles movie, "Petulia" is one of several titles of his making that ask for a reconsideration of his work, which also includes very enjoyable period comedies as "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Robin and Marian", "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers".