St. Louis - Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Release Date: 3/7/2008

Running Time: 92 mins

Director: Bharat Nalluri

Cast: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, CiarÃ¡n Hinds, Shirley Henderson and Lee Pace

Producer: Nellie Bellflower

Writer: David Magee and Simon Beaufoy

Distributor: Focus Features

Official Site: Click Here

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Boxoffice

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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

For an obscure tale of a virginal London governess who discovers her true calling running interference for a giddy night-club singer, British homemaker Winifred Watson’s 1938 novel, knocked off in six weeks while she washed dishes under the looming clouds of World War II, has enjoyed a lively renaissance. Republished by the female-oriented Persephone Press, the novel has been retooled by director Bharat Nalluri as a pert little period costume drama casted, crewed, and crafted entirely by Brits--except for its all-American leads. Don’t get me wrong: There’s almost nothing Frances McDormand (as the brown-clad nanny) can’t do with a blank stare, and Amy Adams (dimpling away as the chaotic flibbertigibbet Delysia Lafosse) is rapidly emerging as our wittiest ingénue since Goldie Hawn. But watching McDormand stretch out diphthongs, all I could think was: “What, the Emilys Blunt and Watson weren’t available?” What passes for plot is cocktail parties in floor-length Deco gowns, interrupted by the occasional German bomb and the obligatory shopping excursion in which Miss P. gets her extreme makeover and gently instructs her confused young boss in basic self-respect. Were Watson alive today, her comic verve would likely intimidate Diablo Cody. But what makes her novel a delight is its guilelessly homoerotic subtext. By downplaying that, the movie argues the case for Watson’s innocent sensuality--and against its own worldly update. - Ella Taylor

Theaters showing Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
(Click on a showtime to purchase tickets)

Chase Park Plaza Cinema

212 N Kingshighway Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63108

314-367-0101

Special Engagement (1:10 PM), (3:20 PM), (5:20 PM), 7:30 PM, 9:45 PM

Plaza Frontenac Cinema

1701 S Lindbergh Blvd.

Frontenac, MO 63131

314-995-6285

(1:20 PM), (4:10 PM), 7:15 PM, 9:40 PM

Wehrenberg Des Peres 14 Cine