Cincinnati Enquirer
by David Germain
March 6, 2008
From the title "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," you might assume correctly that the lady in question hasn't really lived before this particular day arrived.
So, too, the film starring Frances McDormand as frumpy governess Miss Pettigrew and Amy Adams as the giddy actress who takes her on as a secretary only gradually learns how to get a life.
After a slow start, "Miss Pettigrew" forges ahead with true British fortitude and class, an endearing bond forming between McDormand and Adams.
The elegant production compensates for a predictable dual-"Cinderella" story as a self-righteous ascetic and a social-climbing bimbo teach each other how life might be more satisfying lived somewhere in between their respective extremes.
Destitute and unable to find a new job because of her judgmental temperament, Miss Pettigrew takes an uncharacteristic step. She bluffs her way into a job as social secretary to flighty American actress-singer Delysia Lafosse.
Delysia juggles three men: a nightclub owner (Mark Strong) whose luxurious flat she calls home; a producer (Tom Payne) in whose musical she hopes to star; and a penniless pianist (Lee Pace) who adores Delysia for who she is, not the celebrity she wants to become.
The movie's first act is an unconvincing series of miscues, chance encounters and mistaken identities. Everyone comes together in a jumble as director Bharat Nalluri and the screenwriters struggle to introduce the players.
Miss Pettigrew initially is an unsympathetic stiff, while Delysia starts off as an extremely annoying variation of Adams' helpless princess from "Enchanted." It's mighty hard to warm up to either.
With the introductions over, the movie begins to gel and the characters blossom into richer, likable people. Miss Pettigrew proves oddly adept at moving among the fashionable elite and reordering Delysia's cluttered life, while Delysia reveals a sturdy mettle beneath her fickle exterior.
There is nothing surprising in how the transformations of the women play out. Yet through the beguiling interplay between McDormand and Adams, "Miss Pettigrew" eventually musters enough life-force to justify its charmed little existence.
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