Seen on: March 8, 2008

The players: Director: Bharat Nalluri, Writers: Simon Beaufoy, David Magee, Cast: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace, Mark Strong

Facts of interest: Based on a novel by Winifred Watson.

The plot: After failing to find a job as governess, Miss Pettigrew serves as the social secretary for Delysia Lafosse, a hyperactive actress who can't make decisions on her own.

Our quick thoughts: In “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” Frances McDormand stars as a middle-aged London governess who’s struggling to find a job. So when the opportunity arises, she steals someone else’s, ending up serving as social secretary for Delysia Lafosse, an ambitious actress who’s torn between three men. Over the next 24 hours, Miss Pettigrew will help Delysia make some crucial life-changing decisions, including picking the right guy to marry.

Interestingly enough, the entire film focuses solely on one day in the turbulent life of Miss Pettigrew, which explains the overall hectic plot. On the other hand, however, a day can be quite long as well, and some sequences in the film do drag on a little, despite the short 92-minute running time. Saving the show from falling apart is Amy Adams, whose nearly hysterical character Delysia is quite simply delightful. Adams constantly keeps the dialogue rolling and hardly breaths between sentences, lighting up every scene she steps in front of the camera.

McDormand delivers a decent performance as Miss Pettigrew. She’s got the hilariously baffled look on her face most of the time, although she sometimes appears a little stiff and emotionless. Acting honors also go to Ciaran Hinds as a popular lingerie designer, and Lee Pace as one of Delysia’s boyfriends.  

Freaky quote: "I for one am not running around town with Oliver Twist’s mom."  – Amy Adams

The final word: Spectacular costumes, wonderful production sets and a solid cast manage to hide some of the film’s flaws, although they can’t fully burry them. The plot lacks variety at times, and would have probably worked better if it focused on more than just one day in Miss Pettigrew’s life. It was nice to make her acquaintance though.