Review by Bilge Ebiri
How ironic that a film so determinedly old-fashioned should be undone, at least in part, by lack of style. Directed by Bharat Nalluri and adapted by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy from Winifred Watson's novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is eager to recreate the glories of a different time, and a different era of moviemaking. Complete with rapid, witty dialogue and mannered performances, Miss Pettigrew concerns a hapless London governess (Frances McDormand) who winds up, during the Blitz, becoming social secretary to a glitzy, ditzy actress (Amy Adams) and helping her juggle a rather complex love life. It could have succeeded, were it not for its singularly drab visuals and its leaden rhythms. It's a TV movie posing as a '40s bedroom farce. Despite a whole set of terrific performances and a sparkling script, it fails to recreate the excitement of the movies' golden age.
The very American McDormand is an odd choice as the titular failed nanny, but the casting works: she's always possessed a keen ability to convey proletarian desperation with a quiet sense of grace and charm. Similarly, Adams yet again delivers a performance that simultaneously draws you in and winks at you not to take her too seriously. All that said, the true standout here is the always estimable Shirley Henderson, who finds humanity in a rather thankless part, as a scheming socialite who winds up battling Pettigrew for the affections of underwear tycoon Ciaran Hinds (also excellent).
These great performances really should have resulted in a film that raised the pulse a bit more. But Nalluri's main dictum appears to be to not get in the way; usually an admirable philosophy, but nearly disastrous in this case, where style and dash are key to the type of film he's trying to create. Miss Pettigrew carries its viewer along, for the most part, but in order to truly work, it needed to weave an illusion around us, beguile us with the plastic facts of this very plastic world. That it most decidedly doesn't, and the result feels workmanlike — something decidedly less than special. — Bilge Ebiri
