Review

Review Date: 9-March-08
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

As "Big Night" reminded us a decade ago, major forks in the road can precipitate life-changing decisions over a very short period of time. While it is lighter and looser than that film, "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" echoes the thought. It takes place during 24 hours that witness salvation, mutation, and revelation and alter lives forever. If it feels a tad rushed, especially at first, it possesses that heady, dream-like quality which marks moments of upheaval or clarity.

This quality is enhanced by the movie's stunning 1930s dress and decor, which is as affecting as anything that takes place. The focal point is a plush London flat occupied by a bubbly American who goes by the name Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), which sounds like a particularly creamy treat found at Starbucks. She is the kept mistress of a nightclub owner ("Stardust"'s Mark Strong) but is not averse to shagging a theater brat (Tom Payne) to land a stage role that could make her a star. The viewer rides into Delysia's den on the shabby coattails of Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), a down-on-her-luck governess who has learned, somewhat illicitly, that Delysia requires assistance in household management. Miss Pettigrew quickly finds that Delysia herself needs the looking-after, not some spoiled or neglected child, but by then it is too late: the beautiful young woman has already begun to rely on the dowdy middle-aged one, and abandoning her would be too cruel.

Both actresses sidestep the pitfalls of the Delysia-Pettigrew dynamic, i.e., a floozy falseness paired with the saintliness of wisdom that makes Yoda the butt of many jokes. With desperation hovering beneath her pluck and Adams' considerable charm, Delysia seems like she might still make good; and since McDormand can lend warmth to scenes which might easily have reeked of generic fairy dust (a beauty-parlor makeover, a second-chance romance with the ever-dashing Ciarán Hinds), Miss Pettigrew is a good choice to point her in the right direction. And that direction is crystal clear. The third man in Delysia's life is a penniless, passionate piano player (Lee Pace) who gives her an ultimatum: Commit to me tonight or never see me again. Very few characters have blazed onto the screen with as much heat as Pace, who wrings the potential out of his introduction as a vintage Mr. Right, tall, dark, and handsome enough to make old women cry and crippled women dance. If Delysia does not succumb to this rare specimen of perfection there is something gravely wrong with her and the world.

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" flavors its generally comic tone with the specter of another potential wrong in the world: World War II. This deepens the historical aspect and emphasizes why people should gather their rosebuds while they may. Just as big events develop, build, and climax in a single day, one's very life is but a short dash to an irrevocable end. With the help of chance meetings, a well timed love song, and expensive undergarments on somebody else's charge account, one just might find a happy ending — and should seize it forthwith.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.