1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/julie_christie_petulia_1968.jpeg]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:350: What lies behind that endearing kookiness? Perhaps it's [[YouDoNotWantToKnow better not to ask...]]]] |
3 | |
4 | ->''"Richard Lester's "Petulia" made me desperately unhappy, and yet I am unable to find a single thing wrong with it. I suppose that is high praise."'' |
5 | -->-- '''Creator/RogerEbert''', in his [[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/petulia-1968 four-star review of the film.]] |
6 | |
7 | ''Petulia'' is a 1968 {{Dramedy}} film directed by Creator/RichardLester, starring Creator/JulieChristie and Creator/GeorgeCScott. It was [[TheFilmOfTheBook adapted from]] the 1966 novel ''Me and the Arch Kook Petulia'' by John Haase. |
8 | |
9 | In UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, recently-divorced physician Archie Bollen (Scott) and newly-married socialite Petulia Danner (Christie) are both dissatisfied with their lives. The problem is that neither knows ''what'' it is he or she wants. Archie had a perfectly loving marriage until he chose to end it; why, not even he can say. Petulia creates around her a frenzy of activity to escape ''something'' in her life. |
10 | |
11 | The two embark on an affair as a result of simply another one of those inexplicable impulses that mark Petulia's decisions. Their different personalities -- Petulia's whimsical intensity and Archie's gentle passivity -- gives both a fleeting understanding of what it is they lack. However, that very combination of impulse and lack of resistance leads them to mutually reject their chance at a meaningful relationship. |
12 | |
13 | ---- |
14 | !!Tropes: |
15 | * TheSixties: A common audience response is that ''Petulia'' doesn't feel like a film ''of'' the sixties as much as a film ''about'' or ''looking back'' at the sixties. |
16 | * AmicableExes: Archie and Polo ostensibly come across this way, but their love/hate feelings for one another lead to moments of tension. |
17 | * BeautyIsBad: Petulia's husband David, played by young, hunky Creator/RichardChamberlain, is an abusive jerk. |
18 | * CallBack: The shots of Archie and his kids running around The Presidio are very reminiscent of Richard Lester's breakthrough films ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' and ''Film/{{Help}}'', not to mention two of the birds at the penguin show being named [[Music/RingoStarr Ringo]] and [[Music/GeorgeHarrison George]]. |
19 | * ChekhovsGun: Due to the film's non-linear structure, characters, objects and even lines of dialogue that don't seem particularly important (or are even confusing) at first have their significance revealed later on. |
20 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Petulia. |
21 | --> '''Archie: '''I should explain about Petulia. She is a kook. |
22 | * DarkerAndEdgier: It can be thought of as a more downbeat San Francisco-based version of ''Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys''. |
23 | * DeadpanSnarker: |
24 | ** Archie |
25 | --->'''Petulia''': I'm going to marry you, Archie. |
26 | --->'''Archie''': It's the Pepsi Generation. |
27 | ** Strangely enough, the members of Music/TheGratefulDead who play extras in the scene where Petulia is taken to an ambulance also count. |
28 | --->'''Bob Weir''': Bye bye, mama. |
29 | --->'''Jerry Garcia''': Write if you get work! |
30 | * DidNotGetTheGirl: Ultimately [[spoiler:Petulia decides to go back to David]]. |
31 | * {{Dramedy}}: There are some funny moments in the film, but it has quite a few ''dark'' moments as well. ''The New York Times'' called it "a romantic tragedy with comic detailing". |
32 | * EiffelTowerEffect: Set in San Francisco, so there are shots of cable cars, Alcatraz, Coit Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge (though the bridge is only seen in a couple close-ups). |
33 | * ManicPixieDreamGirl: Petulia fits the basic definition, but her portrayal is more like a {{deconstruction}} of the trope, showing the less-than-pleasant circumstances that can lead to someone developing that personality. |
34 | * NothingIsScarier: An unusual, non-horror example. We wonder what's wrong with Archie. There ''must'' be a reason why he left his family. He can't have left for no reason at all...surely? |
35 | * ShipperOnDeck: Archie's colleague Barney keeps trying to convince Archie to get back together with Polo, mainly because his own marriage is in jeopardy and he wants reassurance that things can work out. |
36 | * StalkerWithACrush: Petulia and Archie both act as this at various times. |
37 | * UpperClassTwit: David, intersecting with RichInDollarsPoorInSense and verging on IdleRich. Officially he's a "naval architect", but it's obvious that he doesn't really have any skills in life outside of being rich and being handsome. |
38 | * WouldHitAGirl: David (though it's kept [[OffscreenVillainy offscreen]]). |
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