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:

Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, 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:

casting couch | lingerie | manic pixie dream girl | no panties | female rear nudity | 

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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

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

When Joe sits down to speak to Miss Pettigrew in the nightclub, his cigarette changes from a tiny stub to almost one-third cigarette's length between shots.

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Quotes

[at a lingerie fashion show]
Guinevere Pettigrew: She's 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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Crazy Credits

Before the end credits, there is a black screen and a voice calling "some music please", after which music starts playing and the credits start rolling.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.135 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Anything Goes
Words and Music by Cole Porter
Performed by Lew Stone and His Band (featuring Radio Three Singers)
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

User Reviews

A refreshing retelling of an old story

If you're looking for a compelling, daring, high brow documentary then this is not the one for you. However, if you're interested in seeing good acting, excellent art direction, and fun, whimsical characters then you won't be disappointed. Francis McDormand gives an excellent performance as the lead character. This role plays to her strengths - her presence, facial expressions and perfect timing. Amy Adams stretches a bit to deliver a good performance. She still managed to make her portrayal of the character believable despite her acting limitations. By far the best performance was that of Shirley Henderson as Edythe. Henderson takes the character and fully embraces it, exploiting the opportunity without going over the top. The story line while familiar, is adapted well enough to be make it a refreshing and witty period film without being cliché or taking itself too seriously. Overall the movie was very well done and one of the best refreshingly familiar feel-good films in recent memory.

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France] Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,490,942, 9 March 2008

Gross USA:

$12,313,694

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,724,933

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Kudos Productions Ltd., Keylight Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1