In the late 1960s, San Francisco was closely identified with psychedelia. That made it a fitting location for filming Petulia, a surreal, confusing film starring the decidedly un-psychedelic George C. Scott. Scott is the straight man who keeps the film grounded, giving the supporting characters free rein for their eccentricities.
Petulia was directed by Richard Lester, best known for his two films with the Beatles. Lester approaches the story as a mystery, using snippets of flashbacks to give reasons for events long after they have occurred. The plot only begins to make sense halfway through the film, by which time the flashbacks have finally formed a comprehensible composite.
This is a very unconventional method for directing a film, but it may have a purpose. It covers up the fact that the basic story is actually quite familiar. Petulia is about marriages that have gone bad, and the frustrations and infidelity that follows.
Archie (George C. Scott) is a surgeon undergoing a mid-life crisis. He is divorcing his wife Polo (Shirley Knight), who lives with their preteen boys Michael (Eric Weiss) and Stevie (Kevin Cooper). Polo has adjusted, dating dull but safe Warren (Roger Bowen). Meanwhile, Archie begins an affair with lovely, indecisive Petulia (Julie Christie). Petulia is married to David (Richard Chamberlain), an eccentric, ineffectual man who beats her. They live in a mansion owned by David's strange, wealthy father (Joseph Cotten). Petulia has had a crush on Archie, ever since witnessing his operation on her quasi-adopted son Oliver (Vincent Arias).
Petulia drew mixed reviews upon release. Today, the film is largely forgotten, although critic Leonard Maltin has called it "one of the decade's top films". Some will be impressed by the unusual, drastic editing, while others will be put off by it. Once the plot's true chronology has been established, it finally becomes possible to evaluate the film's content rather than its style. It is an interesting film with a good cast, a disconnected story, and a competent if confusing script. Petulia was based on the John Haase novel "Me and the Arch Kook Petulia".
The film's surreal nature is enhanced by its soundtrack, which features psychedelic rock performances from The Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company. While The Grateful Dead would become more famous by the 1970s, Big Brother and the Holding Company was much more successful at the time. This was because their lead singer was Janis Joplin. Their record "Cheap Thrills" spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Album charts in 1968. (63/100)
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