Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

It's always a delight to watch Frances McDormand, especially in a lead role where she gets to play both dowdy and glamourous, repressed and exuberent, and generally show off her wonderful comic timing. The film is a frothy confection, with a hint of melancholy set as it is on the eve of WWII. Guinevere and Joe both remember the Great War with its high cost and this sets them apart from the frivolous party set. It's a slight story with a clutch of happy ever afters. True love triumphs over fakery and commerce. People drop the masks they wear: Delysia reverts to being Sarah Grubb once more and chooses an impoverished pianist over her wealthy lovers; Joe no longer wants to design the women's lingerie for which he's famous and goes back to designing the humble sock; and Guinevere, having spent a day living with the rich and famous, reverts to her lowly status only to find her own white knight has hunted her down. If this feel does't make you feel good, nothing will.