Petulia

Some audiences may find this dated (critics at the time seem to have tended to see it as a whole lot of cleverness in the service of very little), and no doubt it is very much a product of its times, but this viewer found it to be a superb viewpoint on the disorientations and uncertainties, and the resulting tragedies and melancholies, found among the inhabitants of a society gone awry. It deserves to be much more widely seen and appreciated. Perhaps the best reading is by Danny Peary.

Christ, this is an excellent film. It's a shame more people haven't seen it.

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.

About desperation, disorientation, and struggles for meaning. An enticing resonance between the disoriented aether of the time, of the protagonists, and the tragic unfolding of their encounter, intensified by the overly dazzling colours, overly loud music and overly mechanical environment. And an unusual complementation of the tragedy and deep sadness by humour and absurdity.

Petulia herself was unappealing and irritating, but only slightly more irritating than everyone else in this movie. The characters keep contradicting themselves and behaving in inconsistent ways. It wasn't clear to me whether this was part of the plot, or if this is just the way it's supposed to be in the universe of this movie. The style and direction were great, I just think this story and characters were deplorable.

It's not bad, but it bores me a lot...

I really struggled with this one, but I want to like it, so I'll see it again sometime.

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

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.

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.

"In didactic terms I don't think that it succeeds but I don't know that it's supposed to succeed." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/12/episode-41-first-richard-lester-episode.html