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 |
|
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
- Frances McDormand as Guinevere Pettigrew
- Amy Adams as Delysia Lafosse
- Lee Pace as Michael Pardue
- Tom Payne as Phil Goldman
- Mark Strong as Nick Calderelli
- Shirley Henderson as Edythe Dubarry
- Ciarán Hinds as Joe Blomfield
- Christina Cole as Charlotte Warren
- Stephanie Cole as Miss Holt
Production
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:
- "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
- One of the best known American Depression-era songs, it was written in 1930 by lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and composer Jay Gorney. The song was part of the 1932 musical Americana.
- "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"
- Written by jazz musicians Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, Harry James, and Ella Fitzgerald.
- "If I Didn't Care"
- Written by Jack Lawrence and first recorded by The Ink Spots, featuring Bill Kenny, in 1939.
- Amy Adams and Lee Pace recorded and performed the song during the film's climactic scene at Nick's nightclub.
Other songs
- "Anything Goes"
- Written by Cole Porter for his 1934 musical, Anything Goes.
- A 1935 recording by Lew Stone and His Band, with vocals by The Radio Three (a British close-harmony trio similar to the Boswell Sisters), was featured in the film as Delysia and Miss Pettigrew headed to the fashion show.
- "Dream"
- Sometimes referred to as "Dream (When You're Feeling Blue)", "Dream" is a jazz and pop standard with words and music written by Johnny Mercer in 1944.
- Even though the film takes place in 1939, The Pied Pipers' 1945 recording of "Dream" can be heard playing in the background, as if on a radio, as Delysia bathes.
References
- ↑ "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Stein, Ruthe (March 7, 2008). "Review: McDormand stars in stellar 'Pettigrew'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ↑ McCarthy, Todd (February 29, 2008). "Review: 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day'". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
External links
- Official website
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day at the Internet Movie Database
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day at AllMovie