Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2007)

Featured Audience Ratings

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciarán Hinds, Clare Clifford, Sarah Kants, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace, Mark Strong Director: Bharat Nalluri Summary: When her gruff demeanor costs her yet another nanny position, desperate Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) wangles a… More
  Cast: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciarán Hinds, Clare Clifford, Sarah Kants, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace, Mark Strong Director: Bharat Nalluri Summary: When her gruff demeanor costs her yet another nanny position, desperate Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) wangles a job as the assistant of an aspiring American actress (Amy Adams) and soon gets swept up in a dizzying world of glamour and high society. Ciarán Hinds, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson and Mark Strong also star in this charming 1930s-era comedy based on Winifred Watson's best-selling novel. My Thoughts: "A charming little love story. Shows you how so much can change in just one day. I loved Frances McDormand as Miss Guinevere Pettigrew. She was funny, smart, and true to herself. Amy Adams as Delysia Lafosse was great. She was such a fun bubbly person that definitely needed a little help in the relationship area. Edythe was a spiteful character. I was glad how things ended up for her. The two love stories are cute and in the end will leave a smile on your face."

• Jennifer X

  
  The movie has almost no plot complications or suspenseful moments, yet I love it SO MUCH! It's a floating, pattering, whirling confection of a movie, and Amy Adams fits snugly inside Delysia Lafosse. I think she can have a tendency to be pigeonholed into the ingenue role, but she… More
  The movie has almost no plot complications or suspenseful moments, yet I love it SO MUCH! It's a floating, pattering, whirling confection of a movie, and Amy Adams fits snugly inside Delysia Lafosse. I think she can have a tendency to be pigeonholed into the ingenue role, but she seizes anything that is thrown at her and you can tell she truly delights in whatever she does, no matter how small or predictable her role is. I love the concept of stuffing a movie into a DAY; the vision of people rushing breathlessly around to fit their events in a day is not something often explored and was executed magnificently!<br/><br/>Admittedly the story is not much but that is really the essence of the movie - it entertains and delights, but afterwards you can't really remember what happened, just that you were put in the best mood ever while watching it.

• Spencer S

  
  Lee Pace and Amy Adams give their usually cute performances while Frances McDormand proves yet again that she can pull any film by its coat tails.

• Red L

  
  I enjoyed this movie. Frances McDormand plays a down-on-her-luck governess who finds work as the social secretary for a ditsy actress. They are just what each other needs.

• Lanning :

  
  There is only one reason to see this, ah, happy little movie: the growth of the relationship between Frances McDormand and Ciarán Hinds. That part of the movie is beautifully done. The rest of it, however, is a bit of a wash. For McDormand and Hinds, this is a wonderful love story… More
  There is only one reason to see this, ah, happy little movie: the growth of the relationship between Frances McDormand and Ciarán Hinds. That part of the movie is beautifully done. The rest of it, however, is a bit of a wash. For McDormand and Hinds, this is a wonderful love story that rings very true. For all the rest of it, well, I guess it's a kind of fluffy window dressing. It's as if there are two movies being shown at the same time.

• Lewis C

  
  This was a alright movie. Francis McDormand and Amy Adams play two very different characters who are actually similar in certain ways. And this allows them to help each other make very important changes in their lives over the course of a very frentic day. Adams flies around the sceen… More
  This was a alright movie. Francis McDormand and Amy Adams play two very different characters who are actually similar in certain ways. And this allows them to help each other make very important changes in their lives over the course of a very frentic day. Adams flies around the sceen at a breathless, breakneck place, while McDormand is somber and earnest as she gets swept up into the bright lights and parties of high society. It's brief and fluffy and not a bad way to spend a bit of your time.

• Dean M

  
  Amazing romantic-comedy with Frances McDormand seems like a woman who enjoys flaunting her age in the face of wrinkle-free Hollywood. While she didn't need to lay off the Botox needle to "bravely" play a plain middle-aged governess in 1939 London, initially it seems… More
  Amazing romantic-comedy with Frances McDormand seems like a woman who enjoys flaunting her age in the face of wrinkle-free Hollywood. While she didn't need to lay off the Botox needle to "bravely" play a plain middle-aged governess in 1939 London, initially it seems like an odd role for the Oscar winner. And Amy Adams is as enchanting and beautiful as nightclub singer, Delysia. The film is studded with great supporting turns from the men in the leading ladies' lives.

• Josh L

  
  A charmer of a movie. Amy Adams is wonderful and Frances McDormand is her usual awesome.

• Cassie H

  
  Very good movie. Frances McDormand shines as Miss Pettigrew, and Amy Adams does as well as the troublesome Delysia Lafosse. Very witty,funny,entertaining, and adorable movie.

• Thomas J

  
  A very enjoyable movie! Amy Adams is great!

• Nate Z

  
  [font=Arial][color=DarkRed]The X-Files: I Want to Believe - To all fellow X-Files fans out there, the movie is not nearly as bad as you may have been lead to believe. That said, it's pretty much a so-so standalone episode of the TV show needlessly expanded. And yes, for all… More
  [font=Arial][color=DarkRed]The X-Files: I Want to Believe - To all fellow X-Files fans out there, the movie is not nearly as bad as you may have been lead to believe. That said, it's pretty much a so-so standalone episode of the TV show needlessly expanded. And yes, for all concerned fans, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) kiss on more than one occasion. The plot that reunites the characters is fairly mediocre, something about a ring of mad scientists that want to be a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein. You don't need a two-headed attack dog to know that plot is way too hokey. The most intriguing aspect of the film is a priest (Billy Connolly) who also receives psychic visions, cries tears of blood, and, oh yeah, is a convicted pedophile. Could God be responsible for his special abilities as well as the abhorrent sexual urges? There is so much great conflict and human drama in this character worth examining, so it's a pitiful shame that he just gets shoved off so the third act can concentrate on the lame mad scientists. A majority of the flick occurs in snowy West Virginia, which doesn't translate into anything too special to look at. I'll admit, my rating is inflated because I was an ardent fan of the TV show until the last years when it felt like they weren't even trying any more. If you stripped away my allegiance, I'd say that the second X-Files movie serves little purpose other than to add a tiny coda to a TV show that went off the air in 2002. The characters are worth revisiting, just not in this tepid tale. Nate's Grade: C+ The Visitor - The follow-up by Thomas McCarthy, the writer/director of the sparkling Station Agent, is an affecting indictment on our nation's immigration policies that manages to say a lot of important things in small touches, ditching histrionic messages. Walter (Richard Jenkins, in a commanding and deeply empathetic performance) discovers a pair of illegal immigrant squatters living in his seldom-used New York City apartment. He strikes up an unlikely friendship that moves in subtle strokes that keeps the movie very character-based. The second half of the film revolves around Walter's attempts to work within the system to free his new friend from detention. I could have spent more time with Walter and Tariq, the Syrian immigrant who teaches Walter how to play the African drum. The Visitor explores a man learning in his autumn years how to reconnect with people, and it has moments of astonishing emotional clarity. McCarthy is a filmmaker that can spin narrative gold from just about anything; The Station Agent had a hot dog vendor, a single mom, and a dwarf. The Visitor is further proof that McCarthy is an extremely talented man who knows how to target and tap the humanity of his unique characters. There are very few moments in this movie that feel false. Nate's Grade: B+ Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - The movie seems to float on the effervescent air of 1930s screwball comedies, and in truth it does possess some of that snappy allure. Francis McDormand travels into the inner circle of the upper social classes in London and befriends a bubbly lounge singer, played by bubbly actress Amy Adams. The film moves at a ridiculously fast pace, sometimes too fast as it tries to pile on complications and setbacks. This day-in-the-life confection is sweet and well natured but rather too digestible. Once the movie is over I do not see myself ever dwelling upon it once again. It's a pleasant and entertaining experience even if it dances right out of your memory. Nate's Grade: B Man on Wire - Why? That's likely to be the question on many people's minds when this documentary concludes. Why did effete Frenchman Philippe Petit decide to walk on a tight rope between the World Trade Center towers in 1974? Why devote an entire feature-length documentary to a subject that seems pretty limited? Well, Man on Wire is certainly an engaging film; amusingly, director James Marsh structures the flick like a heist movie, where we watch Petit assemble his team and practice his stunt. There is a sense of beauty watching a man balance on a wire hundreds of feet above the ground. The film also has colorfully French characters to fill in the details on how they pulled off the "artistic crime of the century." Of course any modern art dealing with the World Trade Center is given new meaning, and Man on Wire is aided by added poignancy of watching the building construction and then the daring feats of Petit. I confess, though, that I'm dumbstruck at this movie being declared the finest documentary of 2008. It's a good movie, sure, but not even the fourth best documentary I've seen in a doc-heavy year. The footage of Man on Wire is more amazing than the story behind how it happened. Nate's Grade: B Hellboy II: The Golden Army - I hated the first Hellboy, dubbing it the second worst film of 2004. The fact that I enjoyed the sequel is nothing short of shocking. Honestly, I think this mumbo jumbo is easier to swallow when it's more fantasy based than science fiction based. I can accept an alternative magical world filled with elf princes, troll markets, and tiny "tooth fairy" creatures that act like piranhas with wings. Nazis and Zombie Rasputin trying to open a portal to giant squids? What the hell are giant squids going to do against nuclear bombs? I'm sorry, that's powerfully stupid and unacceptable. Hellboy II is even more imaginative and far more enjoyable. Writer/director Guilermo del Toro has refined the world and makes sure his story follows the rules it sets, which means that while the plot gets crazy it doesn't feel cheap. I actually had some fun with Hellboy II and del Toro knocks out some pretty crafty action sequences. As expected, the makeup and creature designs are impeccable, which may explain why I had more fun watching the various magical creatures than following Nazis and slime wolves in the first flick. The lithe Angel of Death is particularly startling, with a head like a fried calzone and eyeballs dotted along expansive bird wings. This is a film that feels much more confident about its identity, thanks in part to getting rid of the rookie main character from the first film and focusing on the big red guy. If del Toro ever makes a third Hellboy film, I can honestly say I'll be highly intrigued to see what weird wonders he cooks up. This statement is astounding considering I felt that there was only one 2004 film worse than the original Hellboy. Nate's Grade: B[/color][/font]

• Julie B

  
  Very sweet and fun. Especially good if you happen to have a penchant for women's undergarments.

• Mason W

  
  Frances McDormand & Amy Adams are simply two of my very favorite actresses. I finally got to see: "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" and enjoyed it a lot. The film takes place during the depression close to WWII in the UK. Amy Adams plays a up and coming leading lady… More
  Frances McDormand & Amy Adams are simply two of my very favorite actresses. I finally got to see: "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" and enjoyed it a lot. The film takes place during the depression close to WWII in the UK. Amy Adams plays a up and coming leading lady and part of the "in crowd" for the scene in London. Frances McDormand, however is a very plain and simple lady that really needs to find her next place of employment. The ladies meet and Frances McDormand becomes Adams's, Social Secretary. What a simply well done movie with lovely music and costumes that make you get lost in it. A sweet film worth checking out...I really enjoyed it.

• Morgan S

  
  i loved this movie!!! it is one of my favorite happy feel good movies!!

• Robert C

  
  While not an original film by any means, this was a very enjoyable and ammusing hommage to the romantic/rags to riches/situation comedies of the 30's & 40's. The dialog is very clever (if not a bit cliche at times) and the costumes and set design are top notch. The… More
  While not an original film by any means, this was a very enjoyable and ammusing hommage to the romantic/rags to riches/situation comedies of the 30's & 40's. The dialog is very clever (if not a bit cliche at times) and the costumes and set design are top notch. The acting is very good as well, especially that of McDormand & Pace. The verdict is still out for me on Ms. Adams. She's enjoyable enough, but I don't see a lot of range there. This time she came across as Princess Giselle from Enchanted (which was highly overated in my opinion) doing her best Nicole Kidman impersonation. All in all an enjoyable film. Very ammusing for the most part and even touching at times.

• William S

  
  Light and fluffy as a soufflé but with about as much going on beneath, Miss Pettigrew is really only just a 'nice' film. It's not a bad film. In fact it's quite enjoyable - while you're watching it. But don't expect it to light any sparks or to mean much… More
  Light and fluffy as a soufflé but with about as much going on beneath, Miss Pettigrew is really only just a 'nice' film. It's not a bad film. In fact it's quite enjoyable - while you're watching it. But don't expect it to light any sparks or to mean much to you afterwards It's also a little too in love with itself and it's jaunty tone does grate after a while. And some deluded people have described it as a screwball comedy. It doesn't really have the balls to be described as that. It's simply a light romantic comedy - more reminiscent of Noel Coward maybe (everyone certainly talks like they've stepped out of a Coward play). I'd say Enchanted, Amy Adams previous film, is actually closer to the spirit of a screwball comedy. Frances McDormand, despite a terribly mannered accent, is really good in the lead but she doesn't carry the film and she's acted off the screen by Amy Adams, in another compulsive performance. As far as I'm concerned, Adams saved Enchanted from sinking in it's sea of treacle. As here, she saves the audience from dying of boredom. I guess if she'd been given better lines, more people would be raving about her performance here and things would have little more sparkle, but she makes the very best of it. And she is in serious danger of being typecast; but I'm sure she is aware of this so maybe we are gonna get more complex roles from her in the future - I hope! Special mention should be given for Shirley Henderson. She is excellent as the bitchy rival to Miss Pettigrew and even scene-steals from Ms Adams. It was very generous of the director to not only give her at least two great exits but she also provides us with the only truly moving scene in the film. The men range from annoying to only adequate but Lee Pace, with the most pitch-perfect accent (he's from Oklahoma?), gets by almost by sheer good looks and charm alone. He is so very handsome it made me feel a little mmm... (don't roll your eyes! I'm only human) <div style="width:333px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/link/10981962"><img src="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/10981962.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"><div style="width:600px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/link/10947585"><img src="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/10947585.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">

• Fernando Rafael Q

  
  Light and funny, MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY is a delight to watch and there's never a dull moment. Two of my favorite actresses, FRANCES MCDORMAND and AMY ADAMS, shine, each in her own way; both give amazing performances. The guys were great, too: Lee Pace and Ciarán Hinds,… More
  Light and funny, MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY is a delight to watch and there's never a dull moment. Two of my favorite actresses, FRANCES MCDORMAND and AMY ADAMS, shine, each in her own way; both give amazing performances. The guys were great, too: Lee Pace and Ciarán Hinds, as well as Shirley Henderson. Also, the film is a feast for the eyes: excellent cinematography and costumes, along with nice music and a beautiful duet by Adams and Pace.

• Curtis L

  
  First off, the story is nothing special: in one day rags to riches, riches to rags, and high society are a bunch of crappy fakes. Blah Blah. Therefore, the things worth anything are the cast, two of my favorite ladies. Frances McDormand is great as usual. She's beginning to… More
  First off, the story is nothing special: in one day rags to riches, riches to rags, and high society are a bunch of crappy fakes. Blah Blah. Therefore, the things worth anything are the cast, two of my favorite ladies. Frances McDormand is great as usual. She's beginning to look a bit old, but luckily with good actors that just adds character. For Amy Adams fans: beware! This movie probably is her sexiest/most skin showing movie to date, but unfortunately she comes off as an annoying character that really knocked her down a notch in my book. She's beginning to feel very type cast to me as a confused pretty happy girl. I'd like to see her do some more challenging roles.

• Alice S

  
  Some really wonderful moments - Ciaran asking Frances to dance, she saying she can only dance the waltz, then the BEAT where both realize the next song is in three; Amy and Lee's duet of "If I Didn't Care" - but pretty draggy and dull on the whole.

• Daniel H

  
  Charmingly Screwball. This film gorges itself on 1940 high-society, which ends up being alternatively engrossing and hackneyed. A good popcorn film.

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