A Brilliant Conflict

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

War is coming to London. Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) gets fired from another job. She loses her suitcase to Michael (Lee Pace) coming out of prison. She loses her soup kitchen food when she spots Edythe (Shirley Henderson) with a man. Her employment agency won't give her another job and she steals a job with American actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Delysia is sleeping with producer's son Phil Goldman to get a staring role in a play. Her sugar daddy is possessive nightclub owner Nick Calderelli but her true love is pianist Michael Pardue, the guy coming out of prison who was imprisoned partly due to Delysia. At a party, Guinevere catches the eye of designer Joe Blomfield (Ciarán Hinds). His fiancée Edythe had cheated on him. Delysia has to make a choice with Charlotte Warren (Christina Cole) just as desperate to get her acting role.McDormand and Adams are perfect together. This is jammed packed old style light comedy. There isn't great drama or high tension. Adams' light frothy performance contrast perfectly with McDormand's tough exterior. They have a great chemistry and works as a great team. The only problem is that the movie does try too hard at having fun.

I never get tired of watching this movie. The first time I saw it, in fact, I was so enthralled that I immediately started it over again. And that's never happened before or since. Just watched it again, and it still makes me laugh, still makes me cry. All these beautiful details that you appreciate more and more as time goes on. Everyone is perfect in their role. Everything feels right. I was so delighted to read that it was originally written in 1938, which partially explains why it feels so spot on, I suppose. Not that even my parents were alive then, I just love old movies. Basically, it's a lovely meditation on what love is good for, and why we keep on subjecting ourselves to it. I'm crying right now, guys. I'm crying right now. This movie is too damn perfect.

It's Saturday afternoon in September, which in Australia means there's no sports on TV. So I flip through the six movie channels I get from satellite, and there's nothing on. Not even a chance to watch RED 2 for the sixth or seventh time. But it's either watch TV or do something useful with my life, so I give Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day a chance. And Holy Crap! It stars Frances McDormand, who is a fabulous actress, and Amy Adams, who is fabulously hot, especially when she has red hair. That's plenty enough to get me to watch the whole thing. It turns out to be a fish-out-of-water, romantic comedy buddy-movie set in pre-WWII England. The plot revolves around Amy's many lovers and Frances' quest for a decent meal, but that's not really the point. The movie revolves around Frances' acting and Amy being hot while also acting, plus the mood set by fatuous hoi-polloi England on the brink of war. I liked it a lot, despite being stone sober and not with a girlfriend. So if it's on where you live, and RED 2 isn't, this movie is well worth a watch.

My first thought after watching this film is the title for this review. The second thought was: how does Amy Adams do it? She playing a woman who's dating 3 guys in a line and yet she still seems so - for lack of a better word - innocent. It was so obvious that Michael was the one but the journey she makes through the film to realise that is one of the things that makes it so good.My only problem with the film was the rather cringey scene towards the start where Miss Pettigrew was getting used to the ways of her charge and didn't realise that her boy upstairs was rather a big boy and walked in on him in bed. My favourite line in the whole movie had to be: "Sock him in the jaw!" It's a rom-com-drama and is brilliant. I'd recommend to anyone who likes that sort of genre.