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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
London, England, on the eve of World War II. Guinevere Pettigrew, a strict governess who is unable to keep a job, is fired again. Lost in the hostile city, a series of fortunate circumstances lead her to meet Delysia LaFosse, a glamorous and dazzling American jazz singer whose life is a chaos ruled by indecision, a continuous battle between love and fame.
Release : | 2008 |
Rating : | 7 |
Studio : | Kudos, Focus Features, Shine Pictures, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Frances McDormand Amy Adams Lee Pace Ciarán Hinds Shirley Henderson |
Genre : | Drama Comedy Romance |
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Reviews
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
I agree with most of the positive reviews, but I think more credit should be given to the director, Bharat Nalluri. His directing of Amy Adams and Miss Pettigrew is truly phenomenal. You can achieve perfect timing on the stage, but he makes it even better on film. Were there lots of retakes? When Miss Pettigrew tentatively suggests that Amy just not let the third boyfriend into the flat, and Amy says "I can't do that" "Why" "It's his flat", the perfect timing greatly increases the impact. The true author of a film is usually the director, who bears the ultimate responsibility for its artistic merit. Besides his great timing, Bharat Nalluri, like Hitchcock, ensures that the audience knows exactly what is going on, so that dramatic moments don't lose their impact.
I adore this movie. Every time I see it, I fall in love with the characters, the performers, the music, and staging all over again. Amy Adams continues to amaze, but Francis McDormand is so utterly charming that I can't take my eyes off her. Ciaran Hinds and Lee Pace as the love interests hit just the right notes. But my best praise goes to the director, Bharat Nalluri, who directs it like a stage play and sells it like a movie. This film is so inspiring, chic, and self effacing that I am putting it in my personal cue so on bad days, I can watch it and feel inspired again. See it if you like bold panache, lyrical music, big band sounds, handsome acting, and sumptuous decor. Merci!
I stumbled over this gem on IMDb. I wonder why I hadn't heard of it before. It is the story of a penniless nanny (McDormand) who had nothing but bad luck and seems to have reached a dead end in her life. Then she enters the life of a singer and wannabe star who keeps herself busy dating several men at once and throwing lavish parties (Adams). Unlikely as it seems, McDormand has just the skills Adams was looking for to manage her chaotic life and help her pursue her dreams. What first caught me in this movie is the wonderful setting in the 1930s with elegant costumes, old fashioned cars and classy music and parties. Then, of course, it is the sweetness of Amy Adams who first seems careless and self-centered, but actually has a heart of gold. How she enters a room, how she relaxes on a sofa, how she performs on stage - exactly how you would imagine a 1930s starlet, sweet and sexy. In the end, the story is light-hearted, keeps you interested, and all actors fit very well in their roles. But what makes this movie shine out of the multitude of enjoyable but quickly forgotten flicks, is Frances McDormand's performance. She gives a credible and stunning performance. I found myself hoping all through the movie that she gets what she deserves - especially a bite to eat, finally (her hunt for food certainly makes for the best comedic scenes of the movie)! She plays a smart woman who despite all setbacks never gave herself up and who just needed a little push to discover her own abilities. This push she receives by Amy Adams and the (in my opinion not handsome, but in this movie from his first scene on utterly charming) Ciaran Hinds.
My first thought after watching this film is the title for this review. The second thought was: how does Amy Adams do it? She playing a woman who's dating 3 guys in a line and yet she still seems so - for lack of a better word - innocent. It was so obvious that Michael was the one but the journey she makes through the film to realise that is one of the things that makes it so good.My only problem with the film was the rather cringey scene towards the start where Miss Pettigrew was getting used to the ways of her charge and didn't realise that her boy upstairs was rather a big boy and walked in on him in bed. My favourite line in the whole movie had to be: "Sock him in the jaw!" It's a rom-com-drama and is brilliant. I'd recommend to anyone who likes that sort of genre.