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Miss
Pettigrew Lives for a Day
(2008)
 
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a light truffle of a romantic comedy that provides a moderate dose of amusement.
Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a down on her luck governess in
late 1930s London. After being fired from several jobs due to her
personality, she steals a contact from the agency she works for and
suddenly finds herself working as the personal secretary of singer and
actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), leading to a whirlwind of a day
helping Delysia resolve her romantic entanglements while finding some
of her own.
Screenwriters David Magee (Finding Neverland) and Simon Beaufoy
(The Full Monty) adapt Winifred Watson's novel for the big screen,
and along with director Bharat Nalluri (The Crow: Salvation) do a
credible job of evoking the spirit of 1930s romantic comedies, but
this film could use a bit more screwball and a touch more fizz to
really stand out. Nalluri's best work here is with his sparkling
cast, but he struggles at times with keeping the tone light and the
pacing steady.
Cinematographer John de Borman (The Full Monty, Ella Enchanted)
employs soft lighting to play up the romantic angle in an excellent fashion,
while production designer Sarah Greenwood (Pride &
Prejudice, Atonement) and costume designer Michael O'Connor
(The Last King of Scotland) convincingly recreate a bygone
era. Both help replicate the style of a depression-era comedy. Paul Englishby
(Magicians)
adds a jazzy score that bounces along from start to finish.
McDormand delivers a winning performance as the dour governess who
suddenly blossoms into a fashionable personal secretary under the
guidance of a vibrant younger woman. Adams once again demonstrates
what a funny and charming light comedic actress she is as the ditzy
Delysia, and also gets to show off her singing abilities again (as she
did so well in last year's Enchanted). Lee Pace (star of
television's Pushing Daisies) is good as Michael, one of Delysia's
many paramours, although one wishes that his character had more to do
in the film and was written to stand out more as a love interest.
Reliable Irish character actor Ciarán Hinds has fun with a more
romantic role as a fashion designer who falls for the title character.
Among the other notable performances are Shirley Henderson (most famous for
playing Moaning Myrtle in two of the Harry Potter films) as a friend
of Delysia and Miss Pettigrew's rival for Hinds' character, Tom Payne as the
wealthy young producer of a musical Delysia's trying to get the lead role in,
and Mark Strong as Delysia's club-owning sugar daddy.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day lacks some of the zaniness and
energy necessary to be a really good screwball romantic comedy, and certainly
doesn't live up to the films of the 1930s to which it tries to pay homage, but
thanks to the cast it's an above average film with decent entertainment value.
-Danielle
Ní Dhighe
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All contents ©
2004-2007 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Bharat
Nalluri
Writer: David Magee, Simon Beaufoy, Winifred Watson
Starring: Frances
McDormand, Amy
Adams, Ciarán Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace, Tom Payne,
Mark Strong
Distributor: Focus
Features
Runtime: 92
min
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: March
7, 2008
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