Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day: 3/5 stars
Can you get a life and discover love, all in one day? No you cant…unless you live in 1939 London like our next 2 women in the 1930s inspired farce called Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again jobless and poor from being fired form her nanny job without any pay. Hungry and desperate, Miss Pettigrew interceptis an employment assignment as a "social secretary" to a gold-digging American actress and singer with a heart of gold , Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Within minutes, Miss Pettigrew finds herself swept into a haughty rich-society that cares more about wealth , fame and money and treats love like a toy. Taking the "social secretary" designation to heart, she tries to help her new friend Delysia navigate her disastrous love life and career, both of which are complicated by the three men in a triangle Delysia's has created ; devoted pianist Michael (Lee Pace) Delysia's true love , An intimidating nightclub owner Nick (Mark Strong) a man she uses for the money and house, and a gullible junior impresario Phil (Tom Payne) who she pretends to love for the sake of a title role in his upcoming play. While helping Delysia , Miss Pettigrew becomes swept away by a charming successful fashion designer Joe Blumfield (Ciaran Hinds), who is engaged to snobbish fashion maven called Edythe ( Shirley Henderson). Edythe discovers Miss Pettigrew's upbringings and schemes to demoralize her. Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day is a sophisticated comedy that is faithful to its era and time , with acting and dialogue similar to what you would find in a Gene Harlow picture. Each and every actor is faithful to their part and are careful not to overact or overdue the whole 30s ambiance. I will admit, there were times the bouncy, quick and cheeky dialogue and innuendos got on my nerves real fast and real quick. Its airy and light milieu also didn’t win any points . Last but not least, the film also had its world-war II undertones that did not add to the films “Carpe diem” tone but took away from my overall appeal . But the film did do something I didn’t expect it to do…its charmed the hell out of me. Amy Adams provides an amiable performance as the hapless Delysia a character that is flawed yet undeniably profound whose love for Matthew is deep . I also found Frances McDormand wondrous as the intellectual and compelling Miss Pettigrew. She is able to display Miss Pettigrew's vulnerability and loneliness, and yet makes her the most sincere and honest person in the film. Her chemistry with Ciaran also holds strong , which makes for a touching Cinderella -type relationship . In fact, I felt that all romantic quarrels were appropriate and well written without being to mechanical or driven. Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day is not just a homage to 30s farce but a meticulous tribute to it. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day doesn’t break new grounds but it’s a fun story about enduring love and loving today likes its your last.
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