Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Widescreen & Full Screen Edition)
by Bharat Nalluri
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Amy Adams, Frances McDormand, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson, Tim PotterDirector: Bharat Nalluri
Brand: Universal Studios
Cinematographer: John DeBorman
Composer: Paul Englishby
Conductor: Paul Englishby
Editor: Barney Pilling
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2010-05-09
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
Product features:
- TESTED
Movie Reviews of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Widescreen & Full Screen Edition)
Movie Review: fantastic romantic comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
This is only the second film where I really paid any attention to Frances McDormand's work. As I have begun to work my way through her films, I find she was in a number of others I liked, but usually in a supporting role. I first saw her as a lead in Fargo, like most other people. Both her role as Marge Gunderson and the interviews in the extras on the DVD got me very interested in her and her work, hence my current journey through her films.
Miss Pettigrew (McDormand) is a down-on-her-luck governess in 1939 London, who by a twist of fate finds herself thrust into the "social set" of the times by way of ill-gotten employment with rising starlet, Delysia LaFosse (Amy Adams). The entire film takes place over a 24 hour period as Miss Pettigrew tries to navigate and survive the emotional waters of this turbulent social scene on the brink of World War II.
The pace of the film just about leaves one breathless, but pulls one along in a way that few films can. The cast is outstanding, and the on screen chemistry between them is of an extraordinarily high quality. The scenes between McDormand and Ciaran Hinds are particularly amazing. I have seldom seen the power and intensity that these two can create with just silence and facial expressions. The alley scene near the end fairly scintillates!
Amy Adams (LaFosse) and McDormand also have incredible energy together, and their scenes, though reminiscent of the work of Lucille Ball and others, are completely fresh and intense. Lee Pace, Mark Strong, Shirley Henderson, and Tom Payne add their considerable talents as well. (I do wish they had included a gag reel, as it was unfair to mention in the featurette how funny Stephanie Cole (Miss Holt) was between takes without letting us see for ourselves.)
The sets are great and the music wonderful (if you like swing, which I do).
The comedy is madcap, punctuated by deeply emotional interludes, and this is simply great film making any way you look at it. I got it from Neflix and kept watching it over and over (twelve times at last count), "snake-fascinated," you might say (watch the movie, you'll get it). I finally broke down and bought a copy so Netflix could have theirs back.
This is a great film that I feel is destined to become a classic. I think it is Oscar time for McDormand again, and probably some of the others as well. A movie this good is a very, very rare thing. Everyone involved should be extremely proud, Oscar or not.
By way of indulging my current infatuation with McDormand, I have watched this back to back with Laurel Canyon (yes, several times), just to enjoy the polarity (as in 180 degrees) of the characters she plays in each. There is just something about her that is soooo compelling.......sigh...
Get it. Watch it. Love it. They don't make movies any better than this. Very highly recommended.
Summary of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Widescreen & Full Screen Edition)
Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand star in this charming comedy about finding a new life and a new love, all in one day. When Miss Pettigrew (McDormand) stumbles upon the chance to become the new "social secretary" to glamorous high-society singer and actress Delysia Lafosse (Adams), she seizes the opportunity despite being totally out of her element. Swept up into the glamorous whirl of high society, it?s all Miss Pettigrew can do to keep up with Delysia as she juggles her lovelife and career in this ?delightful champagne cocktail of a comedy!? (Leah Rozen, People).Based on a 1938 Winifred Watson novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a colorful story about lives stalled in middle age but kick-started again by the follies of youthful lovers all around. Frances McDormand stars as Miss Pettigrew, whose inability to hold a job in London as a governess compromises her well-being shortly before England?s entry in World War II. Finessing her way into a position as social secretary to a young, American golddigger and singer named Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), the starving Miss Pettigrew finds herself at the center of a whirlwind that is her new employer?s life. Hemmed in by lovers and suitors--including a young, theatrical producer (Tom Payne) looking to cast one of his pleasing girlfriends in a plum role; a creepy nightclub owner (Mark Strong) in whose flat Delysia lives; and a pianist (Lee Pace) who genuinely loves her--Delysia needs a map to figure out how to navigate through life. Miss Pettigrew, who suffered a loss during WWI that she does not speak of, nudges the naïve songstress toward wise decisions. But she is at the mercy of Delysia?s formidable friend (Shirley Henderson), who knows the truth about her impoverished state and is engaged to a much older man (Ciarán Hinds). The latter, a fellow of substance who seems to be meandering through life, falls instantly for the soulful Miss Pettigrew. Full of Art Deco trappings and paced with a vintage, screwball comedy energy, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is like watching a contemporary version of a Hollywood classic. --Tom Keogh
Get to Know the cast from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
 Amy Adams |  Frances McDormand |  Lee Pace |
Beyond Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day on DVD
 Read the Book |  Get the Soundtrack |  More from Focus Features |
Stills from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Click for larger image)
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