Petulia

Petulia (1968) is a British-American drama directed by Richard Lester, available to watch online on iFILM. Julie Christie plays Petulia Danner, a restless and unpredictable woman whose breezy exterior conceals a marriage to a violent husband. George C. Scott is Archie Bollen, a middle-aged San Francisco surgeon fresh from divorce and with no clear idea of what comes next.

She approaches him at a party. No hesitation, no explanation. Their connection deepens fast — then collides with what each carries: her husband, played by Richard Chamberlain, with money and a temper, and Archie's instinct to retreat the moment things get real. Lester isn't interested in a love story — he's making a film about two people who want out of their lives but don't know how to leave.

San Francisco in 1968 saturates every frame: the counterculture noise, Janis Joplin appearing briefly, the city mid-transformation. The setting makes Petulia a time capsule — but the two central performances keep it from being just that. Stream Petulia (1968) online on iFILM.