Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

Director:

Bharat Nalluri

Writers (WGA):

David Magee (screenplay) and
Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 March 2008 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Every Woman Will Have Her Day

Plot:

Guinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess, finds herself unfairly dismissed from her job. An attempt to gain new employment catapults her into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse.

Plot Keywords:

Governess | Singer | Nightclub | Lingerie | Piano

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Amy Adams	...	Delysia Lafosse
David Alexander	...	Chestnut Seller
Clare Clifford	...	Margery
Christina Cole	...	Charlotte Warren
Stephanie Cole	...	Miss Holt
Beatie Edney	...	Mrs. Brummegan
Shirley Henderson	...	Edythe DuBarry
Ciarán Hinds	...	Joe Bloomfield
Sarah Kants	...	Annabel Darlington
Sally Leonard	...	Woman at Train Station
Frances McDormand	...	Miss Guinivere Pettigrew
Katy Murphy	...	Miss Holt's Assistant
Lee Pace	...	Michael Pardue
Tom Payne	...	Phil Goldman
Tim Potter	...	Nightclub Patron

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some partial nudity and innuendo.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43967) | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-7 | UK:PG | South Korea:12 | Ireland:PG | New Zealand:PG | Netherlands:6 | South Africa:PG | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:PG | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Keylight Entertainment Group

Trivia:

Frances McDormand's character Guinevere Pettigrew claims to be raised by a clergyman, when in real life, McDormand's adoptive father is Canadian minister Vernan McDormand.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Johnny Mercer's Dream, a lovely song and fitting the mood of the scene, wasn't written until 1944.

Quotes:

Nick: Since when do girls together smoke cigars, answer me that.
Guinevere Pettigrew: [bluffing] If I want to smoke cigars, I'll damned well smoke cigars, thank you very much, and to hell with your opinion.
Nick: What, they're yours?
Guinevere Pettigrew: You betcha, baby.
[coughs]

Movie Connections:

References Every Day's a Holiday (1937)

Soundtrack:

Dream

Miss Pettigrew...Miss Pettigrew...Miss Pettigrew...

Welcome to a world of lavish delights. A world filled with fashion shows, cocktail parties, and the latest gossip. This is the world Miss Pettigrew finds her self swept up into, and where she lives her day…to the fullest.

Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a nanny that has just been dropped by her placement agency after being fired for the third time from another displeased client. In her desperation for employment she steals an address card to a new client, and is soon on their doorstep, posing as the new nanny from the agency. This new client turns out to be, Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a young singer/actress wannabe who is competing for the lead in a big production play. She has no children and wants a nanny more as a secretary or "social secretary" as she later calls Miss Pettigrew. Within a matter of minutes of her arrival Miss Pettigrew helps Delysia outwit two of the three men she is seeing, avoiding a possible catastrophe. This makes Delysia worship Miss Pettigrew and before long she is whisking her away to a fashion show and salon before a cocktail party in the evening.

As the characters play with love like a fine chess game, Miss Pettigrew helps Delysia maneuver through this dazzling champagne 'n' strawberry-drenched world of revelries that the rich use in a desperate attempt to conceal the looming dread of WWII, meanwhile enjoying tidbits of luxuries she would never have dreamed of.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is an absolute delight to watch from the very beginning up until the final end. The production, directing, writing, and acting are all superb as they recreate the WWII era in England.

The acting, well Frances McDormand and Amy Adams as the two leads, need I say more. These two actresses work together so flawlessly. Frances McDormand masters a British accent and gives a performance of layers. Few actresses can play a character that "acts" fakily-sweet and still give such a realistic performance as Amy Adams. Her performance reminded me of her recent golden-globe nominated performance in Enchanted.

Overall this is a charming, delightfully entertaining film with wonderful performances and a sharp script.