Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day

Though this movie only shows the happenings of one day, it feels like enough excitement to fill an entire year. The destitute Miss Pettigrew, played by Frances McDormand, starts her day off getting fired from her latest job as a nanny, and going to the employment agency. She is sent away without a job but not before she sees a card with a name and address on it on the secretary's desk and slips it in her coat.

From this stolen opportunity, Guinevere Pettigrew finds herself thrown into a world she has never dreamed of before. She comes face to face with Delysia Lafosse, played by Amy Adams, an up and coming actress juggling 3 boyfriends and a busy social life in the hopes of making it big. Miss Pettigrew is labeled as her "social secretary". Though she considers herself a phony, she begins to prove herself indispensable to Delysia from the very start.

Amy Adams is dazzling as a beautiful actress and socialite, doing whatever it takes to get what she wants, but still retaining her vulnerability. Frances McDormand plays the part of a sheltered, quiet, and hungry pauper with dignity and humor. She is resourceful and wise, yet secretly sad.

The time of the story is set right before the start of World War II. Even if you aren't a history buff, the fashion of the time is elegant and elaborate and very well showcased in this film.

Surprising love stories emerge during the frenzy of this life changing day, and no one is ever the same after it is over. Watch it with someone you love and maybe some popcorn.