Archie Bollen(George C Scott, very good)is a square peg in a very circular world. He seems to be a Waldo amongst flower children. There's a scene I find humorous(..while others might find strange and/or pathetic)that shows Archie in the middle of a crowd of hipsters dancing in a psychedelic hall as some band was playing with weird-colored strobe lights flashing throughout. What makes this film so great is that he has no business having any connection whatsoever with "young-married" Petulia(Julie Christie). She has this feeling for him that spurns from an operation she watched him perform on a young Latino child named Oliver. Oliver, as the film would confirm later, is caught under a speeding car and it has everything to do with Petulia and her volatile, unpredictable, "quick-to-rush-into anger" husband David(Richard Chamberlain;he's unfortunately the unsung actor here because all the roles are so great that Chamberlain can be forgotten until his character changes Petulia's life through a horrible beating).<br /><br />Archie's previous married life to "Polo"(Shirley Knight who is outstanding as the conflicted wife;clearly, her work on here outshines everyone..even Christie in my opinion)wasn't a bad one, but something was missing. He felt suffocated, not to mention, there was no joy. When he can not get rid of Petulia, he succumbs to her charms and beauty. This film shows their unusual relationship, specifically how their differences bring them peculiarly closer because of this transfixing, overwhelming attraction that morphs into love.<br /><br />I have to say that Richard lester's direction just floored me. The way he edits the lifestyle of that period in San Francisco life and how he captures the people in that era..it's just Wow. I wish films like this were made today. It just vibrated off-screen to me and I was completely hooked to it's charms and visual fervor. The performances are already superb to begin with, but how Lester brings the past within the frame-work of the present..it's so fresh and innovative. This movie just wreaks of craftsmanship. A masterpiece.