March 6, 08

If this is the one day Miss Pettigrew truly gets to live, it’s a shame she’s not the center of attention. Then again, as a smart-alecky, stubborn governess (think personal assistant), it’s her job to be in the background in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and her latest employer certainly needs her quick thinking and sharp wit.

When Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) arrives at the upscale, 1939 London apartment of American actress/singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), there is a crisis at hand. Pettigrew has to get Phil (Tom Payne), the playboy son of a London theater producer whom Delysia hopes will cast her in a big West End production, out of bed. It’s imperative that he leave because Nick (Mark Strong), Delysia’s sugar daddy and the man who owns the apartment, is expected at any moment.

“The crisis is ongoing,” Delysia says once the situation has passed, and she’s not kidding. With Nazi air raids beginning to strike, Delysia must choose between her true love, a poor piano player named Michael (Lee Pace), and her career. Meanwhile, Delysia gives Pettigrew a makeover and introduces her to the London fashion elite, including a designer named Joe (Ciarán Hinds) and his wretched, squeaky-voiced fiancée, Edythe (Shirley Henderson).

The backdrop of impending war adds an interesting element of futility to the goings-on, but the seriousness of the drama often clashes with the levity of the comedy. It’s possible to be a drama with comic relief, but it’s trickier when a movie tries to be a comedy with serious elements. By never choosing a perspective, director Bharat Nalluri doesn’t allow the viewer to see the story clearly.

Fortunately, Nalluri is working with two very talented actresses. If Junebug and Enchanted haven’t convinced you of Adams’ immense talent, Miss Pettigrew will. There’s an early scene in which Nick supposedly offends Delysia, and to win some goodwill she pretends to be insulted. Note the way Adams curls up on the stairs and fakes pouting, hoping he’ll buy it. He does, of course, but now it’s clear to us: Delysia herself is a bad actress, but Adams is so good that she can act terribly when appropriate and brilliantly the rest of the time.

McDormand has less fun. As the moral center of the story, Pettigrew is one of those people who constantly judges others while never worrying about herself. We grow to like Pettigrew, though, and her transition from a frumpy nomad to a respectable social secretary is laudable if not believable. 

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day doesn’t have widespread appeal; unless you’re a fan of McDormand or Adams, odds are you’re not planning to see it. Fair enough. But bear in mind that when people complain about independent films not getting enough attention, or there being a scarcity of good roles for women, decent movies such as this are about all that’s out there. If the films in this vein don’t get better, the situation cannot and will not improve.