Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 3

Man, I love Francis McDormand. She spends a good part of this movie looking frowsy and down-trodden, but when she finally smiles it blows all the other characters off the screen.

Miss Gueniveve Pettigrew is a down-on-her-luck Depression Era governess whose stiff upper lip demeanor and iron-rod morality does not sit well with the well-to-do parents of Pre-WWII London. Consequently, after being let go by a number of disgruntled families, she has become known, as a 'governess of last resort'. Driven by the desperate prospect of a future spent in soup-kitchens, Pettigrew passes herself off as another employee and comes into contact with the American nightclub chanteuse Delysia Lafosse, whose flibberty-gibbet personality and busy love life leave her initially somewhat bewildered. However, she soon rises to the occasion and helps Delysia juggle the attentions of her three suitors, two of whom can offer a life of comfort in the spotlight, and the third (of course) only his heart and the prospect of true love.

What follows is a small but lovely story, at times falling into farce and lighthearted comedy, especially during the first half, but that, as the film continues, highlights the contrasts between the strong morals and heart that belie Miss Pettigrew's austere appearance, and the shallow beaty of the lives of the Bright Young Things of the London social elite, who have not yet experienced the hardships and vissicitudes of wartime.

The actors make the most of their characters and the production values are georgeous. Amy Adams has an almost Monroesque quality to her, and is very watchable, while Frances McDormand makes an understated but strong case for her character. You know within a second of his entry into the story which of the suitors you will be rooting for. Nothing particularly original or new here, but still a delight to watch. A chick flick, and will translate well to the small screen. By my reckoning, would translate well to the stage also.