Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Miss pettigrew lives for a day.jpg
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
  • March 7, 2008 (2008-03-07) (United States)
  • August 15, 2008 (2008-08-15) (United Kingdom)
Running time
91 minutes
Country United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Box office $16,724,933



Set in London just prior to World War II, the film is about a middle-aged, strait-laced vicar's daughter and governess Guinevere Pettigrew, 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. They leave the station together, arm in arm.



Frances McDormand on location in May 2007.

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 producer Stephen Garrett discovered the book and proposed an adaptation to executives at Focus Features, he learned the rights still belonged to Universal which, as the parent company of Focus, allowed him to proceed with the project.


Critical reception[edit]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 78% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 117 reviews,[1] and Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 26 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 performance[edit]

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]


External links[edit]