Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

Guinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess, finds herself unfairly dismissed from her job. An attempt to gain new employment catapults her into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse.

Director:

Bharat Nalluri

Writers:

David Magee (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay),

Stars:

Amy Adams, David Alexander, Ciarán Hinds

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Adams	...	Delysia
David Alexander	...	Chestnut Seller
Clare Clifford	...	Margery
Christina Cole	...	Charlotte Warren
Stephanie Cole	...	Miss Holt
Beatie Edney	...	Mrs. Brummegan
Shirley Henderson	...	Edythe
Ciarán Hinds	...	Joe
Sarah Kants	...	Annabel Darlington
Sally Leonard	...	Woman at Train Station
Frances McDormand	...	Miss Pettigrew
Katy Murphy	...	Miss Holt's Assistant
Lee Pace	...	Michael
Tom Payne	...	Phil
Tim Potter	...	Nightclub Patron

Storyline

War threatens London as Miss Pettigrew, a destitute governess, filches a client's card from her agency and presents herself at the door. A singer named Delysia Lafosse wants a social secretary as she seeks a West End role by sleeping with a feckless producer in the bed of Nick, a smarmy nightclub owner with whom she also dallies. She ignores Michael, her piano player, who loves her and has tickets for New York on the Queen Mary. Miss Pettigrew's job is to make sure Delysia gets the part. Over 24 hours, Miss Pettigrew is also called upon to help an ambitious and unfaithful fashion editor patch things up with her older fiancé, a lingerie designer. Has Miss Pettigrew found her calling?

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Plot Keywords:

singer | governess | actress | piano | lingerie | 

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Taglines:

Every Woman Will Have Her Day

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some partial nudity and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [fr] Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Vida num Só Dia

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£90,878 (UK) (15 August 2008)

Gross:

£90,878 (UK) (15 August 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Kudos Productions Ltd., Keylight Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Winifred Watson's book was published the fall of 1938 and it became a smash hit. Plans were in the works for a Hollywood film version starring Billie Burke as Miss Pettigrew, but the start of WWII brought those plans to a halt. The publisher re-released the book in 2000 which lead to it being "found" again by Hollywood after 60+ years.

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Goofs

In the scene on the balcony at the party, Miss Pettigrew eats the olive from her Martini twice.

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Quotes

[at a lingerie fashion show]
Guinevere Pettigrew: She naked!
Delysia Lefosse: Hardly! She's got so much whale boning on her that I'm looking for a tale and flippers.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Episode dated 8 March 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Dream"
Written by Johnny Mercer
Performed by The Pied Pipers (as Pied Pipers)
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

User Reviews

brilliant screwball comedy

This type of movie has simply not been done for 40 or 50 years. Comedy based upon timing, script, and coincidence (the "screwball" part) is very rare.

Unlike today's comedy, based on the outrageous, the actors in this genre have to know how to deliver the lines, keep the pace. The resurrection of a genre.

One of the unusual parts of this film worth noting is the score. The music moves the action a great deal of the time. And the composer kept the sound from the era almost flawlessly: big band jazz of the late 1930's. (there are a couple of slips into later jazz styles, very minor

• musicologists may be annoyed - but no one else will notice) The music

becomes one of the characters of the plot, interacting almost as much as the actors do. That alone is a brilliant device, tried by many, mastered rarely, especially in period.

Amy Adams and Frances McDormand have a wonderful interplay, both sides of the romantic slide: young, desired, older, having past love by.

great movie if you like your comedy a little faster, but with no one who's eating anything disgusting for a laugh.