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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Editorial Review

Delicia is the latin word for delight and that is exactly what Amy Adams is in this film. She plays the appropriately named Delysia, a smart girl playing dumb and using men to become London's next big star. It is her bond with McDormand's understated Dickensian Mary Poppins that gives some weight to what is ultimately a period fairytale of two Cinderellas heading in opposite directions in times of uncertainty.

Based on a 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, the film not only captures the look of the era, but also the themes, filmmaking and acting styles, with the fast dialogue giving it the feel of a real screwball piece, or at least a well-studied homage to the genre.

Knowing that it follows such a classic structure, there are no surprises; the destination is not important – from their very first scenes it's clear what's in store for each character – but it is the little moments that make it work, such as a starving Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) looking glamorous but devouring the olives in her martinis, while trying to avoid the sting of the poisonous scene-stealing socialite villain Edythe Dubarry, played by Shirley Henderson. No matter how charming the leading men might be, this is always a girlie show.

For the original author, the pre-WWII setting meant nothing but her current reality, yet in the hands of screenwriters Magee (Finding Neverland) and Beaufoy (The Full Monty ) it adds to the notion of living for a day for it might be all that's left. And while the younger and inexperienced generation celebrate and welcome the event, Pettigrew's serene loneliness is a silent reminder of the high price everyone would have to pay – or maybe that's just reading too much into this farcical female empowerment love fantasy. 

Miguel Gonzalez