A refreshingly old-school comedy farce based on Winifred Watson’s 1938 novel of the same name, the pic, while not perfect, is driven by Frances McDormand’s altogether charming presence as the titular heroine.
With the cineplexes dominated by gargantuan productions like ‘The Dark Knight’ and where even a comedy needs 100 million thrown at it i.e. ‘Tropic Thunder’ to compete, a small-scale pleasure such as ‘Miss Pettigrew’ can prove to be the perfect fit at home. It is a quick-witted, fast-moving bit of exuberance where the sparse, retro look and feel is given less room to breathe, in this case a good thing.
Although not quite as flowing as it could be due to Bharat Nalluri’s sometimes stolid direction where one could be forgiven for thinking this material was based on a stage play and not a novel (the few sets prove a low-budget rather than theatrical origins), the sheer enthusiasm of the actors makes up for any of the slight craftsmanship shortcomings.
Screenwriters David Magee and Simon Beaufoy condense the novel with fine results. Miss Pettigrew (a top of her game McDormand) is a struggling governess in England at the eve of WWII. Consistently losing her jobs, her employment agency refuses to give her more work and desperate and hungry, she connives her way into another client – a bubbly American cabaret singer named Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams of “Enchanted”) who is juggling three suitors all with something to offer.
First up is Nick (Mark Strong), the dominating nightclub owner who offers up his fancy apartment and all the clothes and gifts she can drag home. Next is Phil (Tom Payne), a young playboy type whose father is a big-time theater presence and who might be able to secure her a role in a big stage production. Finally, there’s Michael (Lee Pace), a lowly young pianist who’s clearly the one for her.
And before you can say ‘Spoonful of Sugar’, Miss Pettigrew pops into Delysia’s life and rather accidentally gets to work making right many of Delysia’s wrongs. As she sorts out Delysia’s love life, she herself gets entangled with a charming lingerie designer Joe (Ciaran Hinds) who seems tired of his icy boutique owner fiancée Edythe (Shirley Henderson) and is immediately taken with Miss Pettigrew’s no-nonsense appeal.
That we know how these two relationships will play out is no surprise but the cast is so affable on both accounts, that it’s a genuine joy just to sit back and watch it happen.
McDormand’s performance creeps toward an unyielding integrity of sorts and makes a nice counterbalance to Adams’ more exaggerated performance. Adams gets a few final moments of solid thesping towards the end, however, where we learn that more than just Pettigrew has a past that she doesn’t want catching up to her. Hinds and Pace are both expert casting and give real class to the roles.
Costume Design and Production Design by Michael O’Connor and Sarah Greenwood, respectively, go a long way in creating a realistic period setting on a low-budget.
The film is presented on a flip-side disc with both 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33 full-frame versions. Special Features include a handful of ‘Deleted Scenes’, ‘Making an Unforgettable Day’ and ‘Miss Pettigrew’s Long Trip to Hollywood’.
A slim treat, but a treat nonetheless, Frances McDormand supplies a charming dramedic performance with a solid cast of supporting characters and a narrative that is captured in a perfectly nostalgic way.
If you’re a fan of films like ‘My Man Godfrey’ and ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ and need a less cynical night at the movies after ‘There Will Be Blood’ or ‘No Country for Old Men’, this comes recommended.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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