"Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" *** (out of ****)
"Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" starts off with Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) losing yet another job as a maid. The time is late 1938, 1939. The place is London. Another world war is upon us. Miss Pettigrew has no money, no clothes and no prospects. She stands in a soup line as the song "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime" (written in 1931 and made popular the following year thanks to recordings by Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee) plays over the credits.
There we see the beginning of the film's problems. This was not a successful film at the box-office and going over my first paragraph you can tell why. What young, modern movie fan wants to see an old-fashion comedy? Who knows the song playing over the credits is "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime"? Who even remembers Bing Crosby or Rudy Vallee? And do young audiences even know there was a time in history called the 1930s? It reminds me of the problem "Being Julia", the Istvan Szabo film, faced in 2004. It takes us back to a time no one remembers.
"Miss Pettigrew" is a wannabe screwball comedy. It has its heart in the right place and some of the performances are fitting but the film never quite reaches the level it had hoped for. There is a bit of charm missing.
Miss Pettigrew is told at an employment agency that they can no longer find work for her. She has been fired too many times and since the country is facing a depression it is pointless to keep giving her work when so many other people are in need. Luckily though an address is left on an empty desk, which Miss Pettigrew picks up and pretends she has been sent by the agency.
The employer is Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams) a would be actress and cabaret singer. When we meet Delysia she is rushing to get a man out of her apartment before another man shows up, who actually owns the apartment she is in. It is up to Miss Pettigrew to help her with the situation.
Delysia has slept with a producer, Phil (Tom Payne) of a west end show, hoping this will get her the lead role. The man who owns the apartment, Nick (Mark Strong) runs the nightclub where Delysia works. While her pianist Michael (Lee Pace) is also in love with her. After their brief meeting Delysia has become dependent upon Miss Pettigrew.
This situation lends itself to comparisons with the 1936 screwball comedy "My Man Godfrey" with William Powell and Carole Lombard. And speaking of Lombard, Amy Adams seems to be channelling her through this performance. I have not seen an actress so delightfully ditsy since the great Lombard. McDormand may get top billing but it is Adams who steals the show for me.
With Miss Pettigrew correcting Delysia's life and love problems, she finds herself helping out her friends, like Edythe Dubarry (Shirley Henderson) who has had her engagement broken off with Joe Blumfield (Ciaran Hinds) a famous designer, after he suspects she may have been cheating on him.
This aspect of the film I found quite unusual. I can't quite remember any classic screwball comedy being so direct with the women being so unfaithful. Both Delysia and Edythe have numerous lovers. Usually we tend to think it is the man having the affair making the woman the victim. Not here. Most of the men seem faithful, except for Phil, but every female character is more daring when it comes to love, except for our Miss Pettigrew. As in "My Man Godfrey" the maid or butler is the moral center. The viewer's compass for what is right and wrong.
The film also has a transformation scene as Miss Pettigrew goes from being a "forgotten woman" to a society lady. This also reminds the viewer of other older movies. Even the film's title suggest Frank Capra's 1933 comedy "Lady For A Day" (remade, by Capra, as "Pocketful of Miracles"). Where a poor woman is passed as a society lady for a day, just like our Miss Pettigrew. There is a Cinderella or Pygmalion feel to this film.
Some of the downfalls of the film though is the music. Nearly every scene has music playing in the background or usually front and center. It makes "Miss Pettigrew" basically a music video. Music is a special thing and should only be used to create a proper setting. Director Bharat Nalluri ("The Crow 2") uses music as a means to constantly remind us of the time period and try to invoke a certain nostalgia. But even with the music the film makes mistakes. The songs are from different time periods making it confusing as to where we are in history.
On the soundtrack we hear, in the background, the Johnny Mercer song "Dream", problem is the song was written in 1944. The film takes place in the 1930s. There is a duet between Delysia and Michael singing "If I Didn't Care" (written in 1939, made famous by "The Ink Spots"). The piano player is playing too modern for the time period. His chord changes and harmony are wrong as is the drummer's beat. It suggest, at the very least, the 1950s.
But, who is going to know these things? I do because I have no life and my family are musicians. Still "Miss Pettigrew" is an at times likable film with a remarkable performance given by Amy Adams. She is one of those rare actresses which can light up a screen. Her smile glows. But again we come back to Miss Pettigrew. She is much like the films of the 30s. She has style, wit, sophistication and good old-fashion conservative values. All the things films today have traded in for garbage. That's what makes "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" worth watching. It is a reminder of things that use to be.
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