Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bharat Nalluri
Produced by Nellie Bellflower
Stephen Garrett
Written by David Magee
Simon Beaufoy
Based on Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
by Winifred Watson
Starring Frances McDormand
Amy Adams
Ciarán Hinds
Lee Pace
Music by Paul Englishby
Cinematography John de Borman
Edited by Barney Pilling
Distributed by Focus Features
Release dates
  • 7 March 2008 (2008-03-07) (United States)
  • 15 August 2008 (2008-08-15) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 91 minutes
Country United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Box office $16,724,933

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Bharat Nalluri. The screenplay by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy is based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Winifred Watson. The novel had been adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 2001, read by Maureen Lipman.

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

Frances McDormand on location in May 2007.

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,[1] and Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.[2]

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."[3]

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."[4]

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."[5]

Box office

In its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, the film earned $2,490,942 on 535 screens, ranking #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.[6]

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

References

  1. ↑ "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  3. ↑ Holden, Stephen (March 7, 2008). "Can a Screwball Fable Have an Eye for Detail and a Heart for Fun? Discuss". The New York Times. p. E10. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  4. ↑ Stein, Ruthe (March 7, 2008). "Review: McDormand stars in stellar 'Pettigrew'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  5. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (February 29, 2008). "Review: 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day'". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
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