Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Plot

Set in London just prior to World War II, the film is about a middle-aged, straitlaced vicar's daughter and governess Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), who has been fired from her fourth job. When employment agency head Miss Holt insists that she will not help her, the destitute Miss Pettigrew leaves the office with an assignment intended for a colleague, unaware that flamboyant American singer-actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams) wants a social secretary rather than a nanny.

Arriving at the luxurious penthouse apartment where Delysia is staying, Miss Pettigrew quickly discovers the younger woman is involved with three men: penniless and devoted pianist Michael Pardue, who has just been released from prison; wealthy and controlling Nick Calderelli, who owns the nightclub where she is performing; and young theatre impresario Phil Goldman, who is in a position to cast her in the lead role in a West End play. As she tries to help Delysia sort through her various affairs, Miss Pettigrew is swept up into the world of high society. She is given a makeover by her new employer, and at a fashion show hosted by fashion maven Edythe Dubarry, she meets and feels attracted to lingerie designer Joe Blomfield, who is involved in a tempestuous relationship with Edythe.

In the course of twenty-four hours, Guinevere and Delysia become fast friends and help each other achieve their romantic destinies. After a series of complications like those in screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, Delysia and Michael sail for New York City aboard the Queen Mary and Miss Pettigrew is found in Victoria Station by Joe, who is convinced that she is the woman for him and has been looking for her all night, and all his life. They leave the station together, arm in arm.

Cast

Production

In Miss Pettigrew's Long Trip to Hollywood, a bonus feature on the film's DVD release, Keith Pickering, the son of the author of the original book, Winifred Watson, reveals his mother first sold the film rights to Universal Pictures in 1939. Within the next few years, the studio developed it as a musical to star Billie Burke in the title role, but just before filming was scheduled to begin, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the project was shelved.

In 1954, Universal renewed the rights, but the property remained undeveloped. When London producer Stephen Garrett discovered the book, he sought out American producer Nellie Bellflower, who had just produced the seven-time Oscar-nominated film Finding Neverland for Harvey Weinstein.

Garrett proposed a partnership to get it set up. Bellflower brought the adaptation to executives at Focus Features, but she learned the rights still belonged to Universal which, as the parent company of Focus, allowed them to proceed with the project. Filming locations included the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in Covent Garden, Whitehall Court in Westminster, and Pimlico. Interiors were shot in the Ealing Studios.

Critical reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 77% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 143 reviews, and Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.

Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film "an example of how a little nothing of a story can be inflated into a little something of a movie with perfect casting, dexterous tonal manipulation and an astute eye and ear for detail." He praised Amy Adams, saying the "screen magic" she displays "hasn't been this intense since the heyday of Jean Arthur," and he noted Frances McDormand achieved her "metamorphosis from glum stoicism to demure radiance with impressive comic understatement."

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Ruthe Stein called the film "a swell adaptation" and added, "Frothy and exuberantly entertaining – in part because of the sexual innuendoes – it's the best romantic comedy so far this year ... Director Bharat Nalluri gives Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day the patina of a film actually made in the 1930s."

Todd McCarthy of Variety said of the actors, "McDormand's performance slowly builds a solid integrity, and contrasts well with Adams' more flamboyant turn, which initially accentuates Delysia's constant role playing but eventually flowers into a gratifyingly full-fledged portrayal of a woman with a past she wishes to escape. Hinds puts real feeling into his work."

Box office

In its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, the film earned $2,490,942 on 535 screens, ranking No. 11 at the box office. It eventually grossed $12,313,694 in the US and Canada and $4,411,239 in other markets for a total worldwide box office of $16,724,933.

Music

The film's score was written and conducted by Paul Englishby, for which he won the ASCAP Award in 2009. Englishby also arranged and conducted three additional songs for the film:

Other songs