Miss Pettigrew is a bit like a lesser Noel Coward song, to use a reference in-period to the film (which is set in 1939 London). By that I mean it's lighter than air, but sufficiently charming, stimulating, funny and moving to entertain for an hour-and-a-half's time.
It's based on a novel but seems very much like a play, with only a few lengthy scenes placed in the same settings. But if it were a play, it'd be one with a very strong cast.
Frances McDormand gets to add just enough weight to her character to make her substantial, but not so much as would overbalance the film.
I especially liked a bonding moment or two between her and Ciarán Hinds, as a lingerie designer named Joe. As the shadow of WWII gathers, they conclude they're the only ones, in the social set in which Miss Pettigrew finds herself and in which Joe lives, who remember the last war.
Amy Adams is gloriously bouncy and bubbly as a young actress who is perhaps not as opportunistic at heart as she thinks she is.
In the "New (at least to me) Faces" department, a pretty Scottish actress named Shirley Henderson (next to Adams, above) is hard to keep an eye off. Though it's an underwritten part that's more of a plot mechanism than a character.
And Christina Cole (below) is sexy in a small role as Adams' rival.
Two minor notes: If you think well of swing music of the period, which I do, you'll enjoy the soundtrack, which I did.
And for I think the first time in my life, I'm going to predict an award nomination for someone not an actor, writer or director: Costume Designer Michael O'Connor. The man knows how to dress women...(see above)
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