Dad, you can go to the theatres again.
It has been a tough season at the multiplex for my father. He is a retired widower who has experienced the sacrifice and pain that inevitably comes with living 70-plus years.
He has earned the right to not watch Anton Chigurh blow up people in No Country for Old Men or Daniel Plainview go ballistic in There Will Be Blood.
He has earned the right to be entertained — not by explosions but by a nice story with a few laughs, and a happy ending. Is that so wrong?
You can almost hear that last line delivered by the daffy starlet played by Amy Adams in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, a jolly romp that entertains all.
As a manipulative but lovable ingenue, Adams sparkles. So does Frances McDormand, who, as the dowdy title character, gets her own chance to blossom.
Straight into action
McDormand is Guinevere Pettigrew, a “veddy” proper governess working in the 1930s London.
She is sacked by her employer. Director Bharat Nalluri jumps right into the action, sending Miss Pettigrew to an employment agency and finally, through her own resourcefulness, to the flat of an American actress, Delysia Lafosse (Adams).
Channelling such great comic leading ladies as Marilyn Monroe, Adams flirts and sings her way into our hearts as a woman with a heart of just-slightly-tarnished gold.
Delysia is juggling with three men as she goes after her main chance: starring in the new West End musical.
When Miss Pettigrew shows up, Delysia enlists her as her social secretary. In the next 24 hours, Miss Pettigrew navigates the madcap and amoral world of prewar café society.
The film, adapted from a novel by Winifred Watson, reminds viewers of other movies set in Britain at the same time, such as Cold Comfort Farm and Mr Henderson Presents.
Cut out for the role
Miss Pettigrew affects a breezy but self-aware tone; she is old enough to remember the First World War, giving Delysia’s jinks and sexual roundelays a mournful undercurrent.
But mostly, the film is a celebration of youthful joie de vivre, embodied by Adams with a mixture of naiveté and sharp-eyed ambition.
This performance exploits her dewy innocence, her comedic gift and her lovely singing voice.
The terrific supporting cast includes Ciaran Hinds, Shirley Henderson and Lee Pace. But McDormand claims the spotlight.
She blooms in real time, as Delysia’s clock provides a ticktock to her day.
Sadly, Miss Pettigrew flags too often — it should have moved with alacrity. But it’s a pleasure to watch old-fashioned sweetness and romance.
So dad, this one’s for you. Your cinematic nightmare is over.
