Petulia

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Ron P Apr 17, 2019 Quite typical 60's movie about confusion and crumbling of traditional values and family, and to replace them came frustration and depression. George C. Scott is as always very professional in his role of a confused man, experiencing a crisis in the fast changing world of the Vietnam War era US. See more

Luke S Jan 26, 2019 The story is appalling for how spineless the female characters are. But it's an interesting time capsule and the youngish George C. Scott is fun to watch. See more

Leia R Oct 28, 2018 I remember watching it on two separate dates in the late '60's, before videos, because it was that good. And it still plays really well, thanks to performance. Thanks to everything. :-) See more

Poe R Sep 26, 2014 This movie threw me for a loop because I was expecting something way more psychedelic and/or incoherent but instead it was a super straight forward drama (with some choppy time jumps and, ok, slight whimsy) about domestic battery. Ebert nailed it by saying this movie has "no built-in emotional response"; it just sort of glides past horrific incidents, violence, racism and sexism in a way that upsets you but also makes you realize it's essentially more accurate to life in that way. Your emotional reaction to this film is the 'heart' of it - a sort of cinematic Rorschach test. What I really liked about this though, besides the singular David Hicks' as consultant for interior design in that beautiful house at the end, was how the two main characters manage to swap personal outlooks by the end of the film. You have George C Scott's character who starts off gliding through life and living the 'proper' way, then you have Julie Christie's Petulia who is desperately clawing onto her actual personality by a thread as she's being engulfed by her husband's ego and fists. By the end of the film, Scott is remembering what it means to live for yourself while Christie has given up entirely and fallen in line as the 'proper' wife. It's a sad movie mostly because you realize how often this scenario plays out in life for women... the way she downplays her likes and wants by calling herself 'kooky' constantly (what's so 'kooky' about making your own happiness?) really nailed that Internalized misogyny you still hear and see today. Beyond the story, there are some beautiful shots of San Francisco, some interesting rock cameos, and a couple of things to smile about. Nicholas Roeg does a beautiful job as DP too. Everything else is kind of brutal and sad though. See more

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Petulia

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