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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
2008
In 1939 London, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again unfairly dismissed from her job. Without so much as severance pay, Miss Pettigrew realizes that she must--for the first time in two decades--seize the day. This she does, by intercepting an employment assignment outside of her .. Read more
| Starring | Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciarán Hinds, Shirley Henderson |
|---|---|
| Director | Bharat Nalluri |
| Genres | Comedy, Romance |
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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
In 1939 London, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again unfairly dismissed from her job. Without so much as severance pay, Miss Pettigrew realizes that she must--for the first time in two decades--seize the day. This she does, by intercepting an employment assignment outside of her comfort level--as "social secretary." Arriving at a penthouse apartment for the interview, Miss Pettigrew is catapulted into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse. Within minutes, Miss Pettigrew finds herself swept into a heady high-society milieu--and, within hours, living it up. Taking the "social secretary" designation to heart, she tries to help her new friend Delysia navigate a love life and career, both of which are complicated by the three men in Delysia's orbit; devoted pianist Michael, intimidating nightclub owner Nick and impressionable junior impresario Phil. Miss Pettigrew herself is blushingly drawn to the gallant Joe, a successful designer who is tenuously engaged to haughty fashion maven Edythe--the one person who senses that the new "social secretary" may be out of her element and schemes to undermine her. Over the next 24 hours, Guinevere and Delysia will empower each other to discover their romantic destinies.
| Starring | Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciarán Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace |
|---|---|
| Director | Bharat Nalluri |
| Studio | MOMENTUM PICTURES |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 32 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Hot Hits |
| Genres | Comedy, Romance |
| Released | DVD: 09 Mar 2009 Production year: 2008 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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Based on a 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew is a slightly soggy trifle, a brittle West End comedy in the spirit of early Noel Coward (say, “Design for Living”) and American... read more »
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Most helpful member's review
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64 out of 67 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
This movie may not be for me, I thought as I settled into my seat at the screening of Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, and watched the cinema fill up with an audience that was, aside from me, composed entirely of people who were over 60 or female (in many cases both). It’s true that Miss Pettigrew is probably a movie more for my Mother than for me, but it isn’t without its charms.
Chief among those charms, of course, is Amy Adams. Adams should have been around in the 30’s and 30’s for the heyday of both screwball comedy and the studio system; she’d have been able to rival Carole Lombard and Jean Arthur. Adams is perfect as Delysia LaFosse, an American actress living in London, and juggling 3 boyfriends (Pace, Payne and Mark Strong) who each offer different advantages. It’s not a very sympathetic character, but Adams has such inherent charm that she could do just about anything onscreen and it would still be impossible to dislike her.
Sadly what surrounds Adams in this film, while not exactly bad, is terminally lacking in inspiration. Frances McDormand is a very fine actress, who doesn’t work as much as she should, and while she’s good as Guinevere Pettigrew who, out of desperation, pretends to be Delysia’s new governess, only to find herself engaged to sort Delysia’s life out there’s an awkwardness to her performance. The clipped British accent doesn’t help, but it isn’t just that. McDormand is never really convincing in the character’s skin, and it just never stops feeling like a piece of acting.
The script, by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, is very broad. Characters are painted in sweeping, single colour, brush strokes, and there’s barely a scene that you won’t know the end of as it begins. This is a particular problem for the romantic quadrangle, it’s always painfully obvious who Delysia is going to end up with and the film doesn’t subvert your expectations for a second. This wouldn’t be such a problem if the mechanism to get the characters to this point were funnier, but the jokes, while sometimes funny, are as telegraphed as the rest of the film.
The cast is filled out with British character actors, and their performances range from staggeringly poor (a rabbit in the headlights turn from Payne) to I could do this in my sleep (Shirley Henderson, wasted as ever) to possibly the best performance in the film (a warm Hinds, who plays beautifully off McDormand).
As a whole it’s amiable enough. It looks nice, it’s mildly funny, love conquers all, and Amy Adams nuclear powered smile could warm the coldest winter day. Take your Mum, she’ll like this. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
64 out of 67 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
This movie may not be for me, I thought as I settled into my seat at the screening of Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, and watched the cinema fill up with an audience that was, aside from me, composed entirely of people who were over 60 or female (in many cases both). It’s true that Miss Pettigrew is probably a movie more for my Mother than for me, but it isn’t without its charms.
Chief among those charms, of course, is Amy Adams. Adams should have been around in the 30’s and 30’s for the heyday of both screwball comedy and the studio system; she’d have been able to rival Carole Lombard and Jean Arthur. Adams is perfect as Delysia LaFosse, an American actress living in London, and juggling 3 boyfriends (Pace, Payne and Mark Strong) who each offer different advantages. It’s not a very sympathetic character, but Adams has such inherent charm that she could do just about anything onscreen and it would still be impossible to dislike her.
Sadly what surrounds Adams in this film, while not exactly bad, is terminally lacking in inspiration. Frances McDormand is a very fine actress, who doesn’t work as much as she should, and while she’s good as Guinevere Pettigrew who, out of desperation, pretends to be Delysia’s new governess, only to find herself engaged to sort Delysia’s life out there’s an awkwardness to her performance. The clipped British accent doesn’t help, but it isn’t just that. McDormand is never really convincing in the character’s skin, and it just never stops feeling like a piece of acting.
The script, by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, is very broad. Characters are painted in sweeping, single colour, brush strokes, and there’s barely a scene that you won’t know the end of as it begins. This is a particular problem for the romantic quadrangle, it’s always painfully obvious who Delysia is going to end up with and the film doesn’t subvert your expectations for a second. This wouldn’t be such a problem if the mechanism to get the characters to this point were funnier, but the jokes, while sometimes funny, are as telegraphed as the rest of the film.
The cast is filled out with British character actors, and their performances range from staggeringly poor (a rabbit in the headlights turn from Payne) to I could do this in my sleep (Shirley Henderson, wasted as ever) to possibly the best performance in the film (a warm Hinds, who plays beautifully off McDormand).
As a whole it’s amiable enough. It looks nice, it’s mildly funny, love conquers all, and Amy Adams nuclear powered smile could warm the coldest winter day. Take your Mum, she’ll like this. -
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In 1939 London, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again unfairly dismissed from her job. Without so much as severance pay, Miss Pettigrew realizes that she ... -