Greetings is a 1968 satirical comedy-drama film directed and written by Brian De Palma. The film follows three young men living in New York City in the late 1960s, Paul, Lloyd, and Jon. Paul (played by Jonathan Warden) is a shy and introverted man who struggles to find love and intimacy despite his best efforts. Lloyd (played by Robert De Niro) is a wild and eccentric conspiracy theorist who spends his time researching and discussing unconventional ideas about the world. Jon (played by Gerrit Graham) is an aspiring filmmaker who enjoys recording everything he sees and creating strange experimental movies.
The film is episodic in nature and follows the characters as they navigate various adventures and misadventures over the course of a few days. They explore topics such as free love and sexuality, the Kennedy assassination and its conspiracies, the Vietnam War, and the art of amateur filmmaking. The film's unconventional structure, along with its use of experimental techniques like split-screen and slow-motion, helped establish De Palma's reputation as an inventive filmmaker.
Greetings was De Palma's debut feature film, and it received critical praise for its innovative style and portrayal of counterculture themes. Robert De Niro's performance as Lloyd was especially well-received, and it helped launch his successful career as an actor. The film was also notable for its inclusion of real-life footage of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man accused of assassinating President John F. Kennedy. Overall, Greetings is a quirky and entertaining look into the world of young people rebelling against society during a turbulent time in American history.