Although the Americans and the British practically speak the same language, I always prefer british films rather than american ones, especially those derived from musicals or are musicals. Two of them being The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins — both include Julie Andrews, both about nannies/governors. Since then on, I’ve loved british films about governors — a reason why I watched Nanny McPhee. So here is another great british film about governors…well, in a way. Say “Hello, mate!” to Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Since it’s in English, there is no bonus cultural point here. I mean, I do speak and understand English. But the bonus cultural point comes from the time settings — which, I think, was in the late 1930s. It was the time around a war. There are two very peculiar actors that I adore in this film — and how lucky am I that these two play the most important roles. And them being Oscar nominee, Amy Adams, and Lee Pace. Ever since Enchanted, I’ve adored Amy Adams’s performance. Following that, there’s also Julie & Julia where she plays alongside Meryl Streep. They both were lovely there. Envy! Lee Pace, on the other hand, just melts my heart. He starred in The Fall, one of my most favourite art film ever! Then he appeared here and, that’s it, my heart was officially a puddle. Aside from that, sad to say, I don’t recognize any of the other actors.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starts with Miss Guinevere Pettigrew losing her job as a governor in a family, leaving her out of job, out of money and no place to stay for the night. She went around town, looking for little food that she could afford. In the morning, she went to the job agency to have them find her another job. They refused to do so thanks to her record of failures in the past. But she overheard them talking about a woman in need of an employee. She went to Delysia Lafosse’s house and was overwhelmed by the errands she had to run so early in the morning.
Apparently, Delysia was seeing three men all at once: Phil, who was the son of a play producer and might be her only chance to be a star; Nick, who gave her her current apartment and job as a cabaret singer; and Michael, a pianist who fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. As a thank you for taking care of her business in the morning, Delysia took Guinevere to a fashion show to meet her friend, Edythe, whose engagement to Joe Blomfield was just called off. Guinevere fell in love with Joe as soon as they met. She was too shy and self-conscious but then Delysia suggested and arranged a makeover. Afterwards, they went home to Delysia’s, where Michael had been waiting. He apparently just got out of jail — thanks to Delysia — and bumped into Guinevere the previous day. But he was sincerely in love with Delysia and asked her to choose by the end of the day, whether or not she would come with him to New York and marry him.
Like the title promises, this movie only tells of a day that Miss Pettigrew gets to live her life instead of working or looking for a job. She gets to experience a world she was never once a part of. Technically, this isn’t a film about a nanny. But what Guinevere was to Delysia was kind of nanny-like. Although the plot was kind of slow, it was very interesting and a lot happens rather quickly you’d forget it has only been a day. Michael is my most favourite character since he is so sincere and hopelessly romantic. Lovely story, incredible ending. What astounds me the most is the costume design. My most favourite is the outfits Delysia and Michael wear at the end. Well, enjoy your Friday and weekend, everyone! I’ll be going to Weimar tomorrow.
Although the Americans and the British practically speak the same language, I always prefer british films rather than american ones, especially those derived from musicals or are musicals. Two of them being The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins — both include Julie Andrews, both about nannies/governors. Since then on, I’ve loved british films about governors — a reason why I watched Nanny McPhee. So here is another great british film about governors…well, in a way. Say “Hello, mate!” to Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Since it’s in English, there is no bonus cultural point here. I mean, I do speak and understand English. But the bonus cultural point comes from the time settings — which, I think, was in the late 1930s. It was the time around a war. There are two very peculiar actors that I adore in this film — and how lucky am I that these two play the most important roles. And them being Oscar nominee, Amy Adams, and Lee Pace. Ever since Enchanted, I’ve adored Amy Adams’s performance. Following that, there’s also Julie & Julia where she plays alongside Meryl Streep. They both were lovely there. Envy! Lee Pace, on the other hand, just melts my heart. He starred in The Fall, one of my most favourite art film ever! Then he appeared here and, that’s it, my heart was officially a puddle. Aside from that, sad to say, I don’t recognize any of the other actors.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starts with Miss Guinevere Pettigrew losing her job as a governor in a family, leaving her out of job, out of money and no place to stay for the night. She went around town, looking for little food that she could afford. In the morning, she went to the job agency to have them find her another job. They refused to do so thanks to her record of failures in the past. But she overheard them talking about a woman in need of an employee. She went to Delysia Lafosse’s house and was overwhelmed by the errands she had to run so early in the morning.
Apparently, Delysia was seeing three men all at once: Phil, who was the son of a play producer and might be her only chance to be a star; Nick, who gave her her current apartment and job as a cabaret singer; and Michael, a pianist who fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. As a thank you for taking care of her business in the morning, Delysia took Guinevere to a fashion show to meet her friend, Edythe, whose engagement to Joe Blomfield was just called off. Guinevere fell in love with Joe as soon as they met. She was too shy and self-conscious but then Delysia suggested and arranged a makeover. Afterwards, they went home to Delysia’s, where Michael had been waiting. He apparently just got out of jail — thanks to Delysia — and bumped into Guinevere the previous day. But he was sincerely in love with Delysia and asked her to choose by the end of the day, whether or not she would come with him to New York and marry him.
Like the title promises, this movie only tells of a day that Miss Pettigrew gets to live her life instead of working or looking for a job. She gets to experience a world she was never once a part of. Technically, this isn’t a film about a nanny. But what Guinevere was to Delysia was kind of nanny-like. Although the plot was kind of slow, it was very interesting and a lot happens rather quickly you’d forget it has only been a day. Michael is my most favourite character since he is so sincere and hopelessly romantic. Lovely story, incredible ending. What astounds me the most is the costume design. My most favourite is the outfits Delysia and Michael wear at the end. Well, enjoy your Friday and weekend, everyone! I’ll be going to Weimar tomorrow.