It took me a little while to get into this, it was so different from other Richard Lester films I've seen. There's jazzy visuals, beautiful photography, lush John Barry score, depictions of late 60s San Francisco (including Janis Joplin singing and Edward Hessman as a hippy), some non liner narrative with flashforwards and flashbacks.
The story is named Petulia and Julie Christie plays that role but it's as much if not more about doctor George C Scott, who is divorced from Shirley Knight, who has a new guy but still is attached to Scott; they share two kids. Scott has a girlfriend but then starts a relationship with Julie Christie who is married to Richard Chamberlain. Scott has a friend, Arthur Hiller, who is having some troubles with his wife.
Half-way through it turns out Christie is in an abusive relationship with Chamberlain, who beats her senseless. This is very well handled - one of the most frank and believable depictions of domestic violence in a Hollywood film til then, helped by the casting of charming Chamberlain, and Joseph Cotten as his rich, protective father.
All the acting is excellent. It's an A-league cast - Christie is stunning to look at and very good playing the scatty, haunted Petulia, the manic pixie dream girl with a secret; Chamberlain is a perfect rich man's son, spoilt, narcissistic, hot enough for Christie; Scott typically good as an everyman, I guess. Knight, Cotten and Hill are all very good. It's ironic that Scott is in this when he was fond of punching out his girlfriends in real life.
This was a very good movie and a complete surprise. I don't know why critics called it cold and mean and anti-American it's just a more realistic depiction of marriage.
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