Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day PG

IT shouldn’t really work, should it?

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is a “frothy screwball period drama with a dash of vintage farce” (bleurgh).

With an obviously rubbish title.

Which is set in 1930s London, but stars two Yanks.

And is directed by the bloke behind The Crow III, the film that did to The Crow film franchise what a faulty revolver did to The Crow. And yet, I have not enjoyed a romcom like this in ages.

Fargo star Frances McDormand is Guinevere Pettigrew, a strait-laced governess who keeps losing her posts because she’s a prickly old mare.

After being booted out by her agency, Miss Pettigrew overhears that cabaret singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams from Enchanted) is looking for a social secretary. So she hotfoots it to Delysia’s plush art deco pad round and talks her way into the job. And over the following 24 hours, her life—plus Delysia’s and a few others—is turned upside down.

Amy Adams plays the dizzy minx to perfection but expertly brings in gravity when needed. It’s the kind of part Renee Zellweger used to be first choice for. And after this, will be no longer.

And Frances McDormand and the supporting cast are also as also fantastic as you’d expect. As are the supporting cast, who include Shirley Henderson and Ciaran Hinds. And the whole thing’s dripping with old-school glamour - costumes, sets and music are all perfectly chosen.

Yes, it’s lightweight, but it’s dripping with old-school glamour and the story may be based on the premise that only about five people live in London and they keep bumping in to each other all the time. But the quality of the performances and the feel-good vibe raise this one right up through the rafters.

OUT ON FRIDAY