| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
B+ |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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McDormand and Adams Doesn't Ruin This Day
by Eric (movies profile)
Apr 24, 2008
7
of
9 people found this review helpful
I’m a fan of rapid-fire comedies where wit and timing are everything. It used to be the hallmark of comedies before the stand-up comics started to make it about content over delivery. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is the kind of comedy that I missed; where witty dialogue is the punch line, slapstick and manners are the order of the day, and there’s a foreboding about the coming darkness of World War II.
Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a London nanny/housekeeper who can’t seem to keep a job because of her arrogant nature. She believes that her employers need to meet her standards than she needs to meet theirs. This says a lot about her pride in the face of continuing hunger as she rarely has enough to eat. After being fired from her last job, she gets the listing for Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a songstress who is trying to break into the London theatre scene. When she arrives for the job, she is immediately thrown into a whirlwind. In the matter of 15 minutes, she’s turned into Delysia’s social secretary, and her days seem to be revolved around three completely different men. One is the playboy son of the theater owner that she’s sleeping with for a major part. Another is a nightclub owner who put her into the posh flat she’s staying in. And then there’s her piano player who knows her best (Lee Pace).
The movie is set up into three acts: The Apartment/Fashion Show, The Party, and The Night Club. Pettigrew seems to be apart of a new world where values she holds dear are parts of a game. She is sickened by these people, but wouldn’t say so out of fear of being discovered for being an outsider. And then there’s a charming clothing designer (Cirian Hinds) who would be an outsider if he weren’t so good at what he does, which gives the scenes with the two of them a lot of resonance.
The movie is short, sweet, and direct. It’s not perfect, but it’s great on it’s own terms. It has fun and was poignant at times. The recurring theme in the movie is that while war is looming closer, the arrogant characters in the movie are play ignorant to what we with hindsight know as dark days ahead. There’s something contemporary in this as America, in the vice of war and recession is acting with arrogant abandon as the warning sirens are starting to sing. Only those who can remember bad times have the knowledge to look forward and prepare for dark days. The movie’s ending is both sweet and sad.
The pairing of McDormand and Adams is brilliant. They have a report with each other that is neither familiar nor distant. We can understand why their characters connect so well in how each actress plays their part. Adams has the more flamboyant part, which makes her easier to see. She has a boundless amount of energy that is important to the role. But more importantly, she understands the naïve nature of this character, this girl whose beauty is the key to her success. When her character sings, she’s not that great. When her character acts, it’s not that good. But she gets the pass, as we can see clearly, because she’s so incredibly beautiful that it brings moths to the flame, which is why Marilyn Monroe had such a successful career. I must be careful to explain that Adams is capable of acting and singing extremely well and so that you don’t mistaken the two. McDormand, who is probably one of the best underestimated actresses of all time, gives a quiet and thoughtful performance. Her character shrinks for the limelight as a defense mechanism. Watch as she allows others to take the emphasis off of her, especially Adams.
All in all, this is a film that about 50 years too late, and thank God. I think of this movie as an Oscar Wilde play being directed by Preston Sturges. It’s wild, funny, innocently naughty and having a good time. It’s sophisticated without needing to be sophisticated to enjoy it. Yes, it’s a slight work of art, but a lot of fun all the same. Definitely worth a day trip to the theater. |
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