This movie has been well-received by critics and Julie Christie won the Oscar for Best Actress. Despite this fine pedigree, I was amazingly unimpressed by the film. Yes, I will agree that this is a good film TECHNICALLY--there's some good acting and direction. However, I just found myself caring little for Christie's character. She was incredibly shallow and conniving, though quite pretty, and she slept her way to success. This makes for a moderately interesting film at best. Many will no doubt enjoy this movie, but I have a problem watching a movie when I really don't care for ANYONE. This is definitely my prejudice--I admit it. If you can get past this, you'll probably like Darling. If, however, you need to feel a sense of connection to at least some of the characters, I suggest you avoid the movie.

Laurence Harvey and Dirk Bogarde are two of the rich and famous who Julie Christie beds in her horizontal climb up the celebrity ladder to fame and fortune. Christie won an Oscar for her performance in Darling, a nice cinematographic record of swinging London of the Sixties. The only thing missing was a Beatles soundtrack.

Christie's Diana Scott is something else, a total amoral sexual animal who uses her body to get ahead. In the end she becomes the UK's first princess Diana as she marries an Italian Prince Jose Luis De Villalonga and gets something of a comeuppance when she finds she's a unique version of a trophy wife. Christie does in fact have her needs.

Laurence Harvey plays his usual cold and calculating playboy cad, a part he practically patented in his career. Dirk Bogarde is fine as the intellectual British broadcaster, a kind of UK version of Charlie Rose who leaves his wife and family for Christie who then moves on to something better.

By 1965 the Code was a tumbling down and Darling talks a whole lot about very forbidden subjects up till that time. Darling is provocative and daring and when you see it, make sure you have your Hard Day's Night album handy.

Diana Scott (Julie Christie) climbs the ladder as a model and an aspiring actress. She marries young to Tony Bridges. Then she leaves him when for TV interviewer Robert Gold who was also married at the time. Then she has a relationship with advertising executive Miles Brand. Then she marries Prince Cesare della Romita after meeting him in Italy. Only her newest marriage isn't a happy one.

Julie Christie won the Oscar for best actress. She puts in a wide ranging performance. It was also a big year for her with her other movie 'Doctor Zhivago'. The movie also won for best original screenplay. I'm not as impressed with that. It just seems like writer Frederic Raphael jammed everything from the tabloid pages into this movie. The black and white also took me by surprise a little. The cover of the DVD is in color. I think color would have worked much better for this character. Julie Christie does some good work but I don't see much else in this.