Taglines: Every woman will have her day.
In 1939 London, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (played by Ms. McDormand) is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again unfairly dismissed from her job. Without so much as severance pay, Miss Pettigrew realizes that she must for the first time in two decades seize the day. This she does, by intercepting an employment assignment outside of her comfort level as social secretary.
Arriving at a penthouse apartment for the interview, Miss Pettigrew is catapulted into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse (Ms. Adams). Within minutes, Miss Pettigrew finds herself swept into a heady high-society milieu and, within hours, living it up.
Taking the social secretary designation to heart, she tries to help her new friend Delysia navigate a love life and career, both of which are complicated by the three men in Delysias orbit; devoted pianist Michael (Mr. Pace), intimidating nightclub owner Nick (Mr. Strong), and impressionable junior impresario Phil (Mr. Payne). Miss Pettigrew herself is blushingly drawn to the gallant Joe (Mr. Hinds), a successful designer who is tenuously engaged to haughty fashion maven Edythe (Ms. Henderson) the one person who senses that the new social secretary may be out of her element, and schemes to undermine her. Over the next 24 hours, Guinevere and Delysia will empower each other to discover their romantic destinies.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Bharat Nalluri. The screenplay by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy is based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Winifred Watson. The novel had been adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 2001, read by Maureen Lipman.
In its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, the film earned $2,490,942 on 535 screens, ranking No. 11 at the box office. It eventually grossed $12,313,694 in the US and Canada and $4,411,239 in other markets for a total worldwide box office of $16,724,933.
In Miss Pettigrew’s Long Trip to Hollywood, a bonus feature on the film’s DVD release, Keith Pickering, the son of the author of the original book, Winifred Watson, reveals his mother first sold the film rights to Universal Pictures in 1939. Within the next few years, the studio developed it as a musical to star Billie Burke in the title role but, just before filming was scheduled to begin, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the project was shelved.
In 1954, Universal renewed the rights, but the property remained undeveloped. When London producer Stephen Garrett discovered the book, he sought out American producer Nellie Bellflower, who had just produced the seven-time Oscar-nominated film Finding Neverland for Harvey Weinstein.
Garrett proposed a partnership to get it set up. Bellflower brought the adaptation to executives at Focus Features, but she learned the rights still belonged to Universal which, as the parent company of Focus, allowed them to proceed with the project. Filming locations included the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in Covent Garden, Whitehall Court in Westminster, and Pimlico. Interiors were shot in the Ealing Studios.
About the Story
Set in London just prior to World War II, the film is about a middle-aged, straitlaced vicar’s daughter and governess Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), who has been fired from her fourth job. When employment agency head Miss Holt insists that she will not help her, the destitute Miss Pettigrew leaves the office with an assignment intended for a colleague, unaware that flamboyant American singer-actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams) wants a social secretary rather than a nanny.
Arriving at the luxurious penthouse apartment where Delysia is staying, Miss Pettigrew quickly discovers the younger woman is involved with three men: penniless and devoted pianist Michael Pardue, who has just been released from prison; wealthy and controlling Nick Calderelli, who owns the nightclub where she is performing; and young theatre impresario Phil Goldman, who is in a position to cast her in the lead role in a West End play.
As she tries to help Delysia sort through her various affairs, Miss Pettigrew is swept up into the world of high society. She is given a makeover by her new employer and, at a fashion show hosted by fashion maven Edythe Dubarry, she meets and feels attracted to lingerie designer Joe Blomfield, who is involved in a tempestuous relationship with Edythe.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
Directed by: Bharat Nalluri
Starring: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciarán Hinds, Christina Cole, Stephanie Cole, Beatie Edney, Shirley Henderson, Sarah Kants, David Alexander, Tom Payne, Katy Murphy
Screenplay by: David Magee, Simon Beaufoy
Production Design by: Sarah Greenwood
Cinematography by: John de Borman
Film Editing by: Barney Pilling
Costume Design by: Michael O’Connor
Set Decoration by: Katie Spencer
Art Direction by: Nick Gottschalk, Niall Moroney
Music by: Paul Englishby
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some partial nudity and innuendo.
Distributed by: Focus Features
Release Date: March 7, 2008 (United States), August 15, 2008 (United Kingdom)
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