The disc: "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day"
The details: On one hand, "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" is slightly bizarre, as it casts the talented but sternly visaged Frances McDormand in a part that Maggie Smith would have made her own 20 years ago. On the other hand, it mostly works, and, more surprisingly, charms.
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It's the story of Miss Pettigrew, the world's worst English governess. Jobless and desperate, she talks her way into a job as the social secretary to the actress Delysia LaFosse, played by the admirably daffy Amy Adams as somewhere between Carole Lombard and Marilyn Monroe. Delysia is juggling three lovers in the hopes of striking it big in London's West End, and Miss Pettigrew, a proper English lady, helps guide Delysia to the right life choices.
Did I mention that the time for this carefree little period bonbon isn't really so carefree? It's 1939, and, while the art direction is truly stunning, full of lavish Deco apartments and nightclubs, ceilings occasionally bounce from the beginning of the Blitz.
McDormand's fake English accent fits in smoothly with the authentic English accents of the rest of the cast, and it's all over in 93 minutes.
At a time when comic-book movies pretend to the moral weight, not to mention the running time, that used to be reserved for "Lawrence of Arabia," a movie that knows exactly how long it takes to tell a modest little story and tell it well ought to be cherished.
The extras: A couple of deleted scenes and a production featurette.
Scott Eyman writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: scott_eyman AT pbpost.com
