I liked this film most when it slipped in a few points about the entitled little bubble these people live in compared to people of color, e.g. When the model's face (Julie Christie) is put up on a billboard over an image seeking charity for starving children in Africa while the opening credits are rolled. I also liked its acknowledgement of gay and trans people, beautiful cinematography in places like Capri, and the idea of a woman fully empowered with her sexuality, including having an abortion. The film is pretty strong in its first half because we're immersed into London in the 60's, and director John Schlesinger moves things along. It doesn't do enough with the potential of the story, however, and got much less interesting to me in its second half.
I have to say, I didn't care for the main character much at all, who was unlikeable while going from one man to the next, cheating as she went. She climbs a ladder of sorts, making connections through men to appear in B films and print ads before getting married to an older Italian prince. She gets bored quickly when the man in her life isn't paying attention to her, not having much by way of her own interests. She makes decisions that she's then unhappy over in a bit of a loop, which gets tedious for a film of this length, and it's hard to sympathize as she sits distraught in a castle while the servants feed her.
The ultimate fate of the character was undoubtedly the point, but the film would have resonated with me far more had she been a stronger person, one who was sexually free, made some mistakes, but eventually found happiness one way or another. She seems at peace most when she's with a gay friend, and mentions that she doesn't even like sex that much - how incredible would it have been had she ended up in a platonic relationship, or realizing she didn't need a partner. As it is, despite the shock of the nudity and the swinging Parisian club scene, it kind of plays like a morality tale. In any event, it just left me cold, because I didn't care what happened to her.
I have to say, I didn't care for the main character much at all, who was unlikeable while going from one man to the next, cheating as she went. She climbs a ladder of sorts, making connections through men to appear in B films and print ads before getting married to an older Italian prince. She gets bored quickly when the man in her life isn't paying attention to her, not having much by way of her own interests. She makes decisions that she's then unhappy over in a bit of a loop, which gets tedious for a film of this length, and it's hard to sympathize as she sits distraught in a castle while the servants feed her.
The ultimate fate of the character was undoubtedly the point, but the film would have resonated with me far more had she been a stronger person, one who was sexually free, made some mistakes, but eventually found happiness one way or another. She seems at peace most when she's with a gay friend, and mentions that she doesn't even like sex that much - how incredible would it have been had she ended up in a platonic relationship, or realizing she didn't need a partner. As it is, despite the shock of the nudity and the swinging Parisian club scene, it kind of plays like a morality tale. In any event, it just left me cold, because I didn't care what happened to her.