Richard Lester's dated attempt to interpolate the momentous shift of the 60s via the quasi-affair between George C. Scott and Julie Christie is a pretentious mess, though strikingly shot by Nic Roeg. I spent most of the movie wondering whether Christie's character was insane. Then when I watch the "making of" featurette I learn that she's just "full of life." So that's what they were calling it back then.
This picture has a cult following. I'm not a member. The most memorable thing about it, if you ask me, is the continuous lust for high fashion, urban dwelling, and what was basically Quality Living back in the late '60s
A haunting, almost surreally fragmented romance about a passionate, impulsive young woman and a middle-aged doctor who has divorced his wife "because one day I felt very tired of being married." Occasionally confusing (and perhaps it did not need to be so), but a richly textured, perceptive film; one which will likely reward future viewings. Excellent acting; George C. Scott scores in this atypical role, and Julie Christie's Petulia is one of her most affecting parts. Visually powerful as well.
Petulia is astute (and prescient) in declaring that neither side really "gets it", and thus, neither will persevere. The movie is also definitive because of its non-linear, flashback-heavy plot (lifting stylistically from Godard and other art-house gurus) and deep-focus technicolor photography. The ultimate sixties film.