You know there are movies that are able to make you feel like you are living a sunny, beautiful early-spring day. You are kept smiling and you are perfectly happy, even if there is no reason.

“Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day”, directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy is just one of those movies that will make you feel good and light-hearted, without any obvious reason.

A modern fairytale, with a retro touch, “Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day” is based on the homonym novel written by the English author Winifred Watson back in 1938. The book itself has an interesting story. After it was published in the United States, the Universal Studios bought the film rights and intended to cast Billy Burke from The Wizard of Oz, but the project was abandoned following Pearl Harbour.

“Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day” was reissued in 2000 by Persephone Books, when Winifred Watson was 94 years old. Watson wrote six novels in the 1930s and early 1940s, mostly about women changing their lives, flouting convention, and dealing with class tensions and extra-marital sex. She gave up writing in 1943 in order to raise her son, Keith.

But let’s return to the movie. “Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day” is about Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), a middle-aged governess in 1939 London, who is fired from her job.

She returns to her employment agency and steals a card for what looks like a nanny job for Delysia Lafosse.

But, as she arrives at a penthouse apartment for the interview, Miss Pettigrew finds herself catapulted right into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adms), an American actress and singer.

Delysia is looking for a “social secretary” and in a matter of minutes, without any previous experience, Miss Pettigrew proves she is a perfect fit for the job.

She lands right in an awkward situation for the glamorous actress: Phil (Tom Payne), one of her lovers and the man who can offer Delysia a part in a play sleeps in her bedroom. Nick (Mark Strong), the real owner of the penthouse and the other lover of Delysia is on his way in.

That’s the moment when Miss Pettigrew saves the day, in a playful and funny manner as she soon discovers that there is a third man in Delysia’s life: her devoted pianist Michael (Lee Pace).

That is just the start of an amazing day, which will change the life of both women, in a funny and unexpected way. 

Although she seems ready to do anything for her career, Delysia Lafosse is not one of those bad girls and she truly loves the penniless pianist Michael. As Miss Pettigrew tries to help her new friend, Delysia, navigate through her complicated love life and career, she finds herself drawn to the gallant Joe (Ciaran Hinds), a successful designer who is tenuously engaged to haughty fashion maven Edythe (Shirley Henderson). Edythe is the one person who senses that the new "social secretary" may be out of her element, and schemes to undermine her.

In a kind of modern paraphrase of Cinderella, in the next 24 hours, Guinevere and Delysia will empower each other to discover their romantic destinies.

Although it seems rather, the movie is just a perfect romantic comedy, where everything from the cast to the music fits in the right place to tell the story.

Frances McDormand plays a wonderful Miss Pettigrew and her performance is one of the strong points of this comedy. An Academy Award winner, Frances McDormand puts in her portrayal of Miss Pettigrew just the right dose of emotion, surprise and understanding, to complement the complicated, but somehow innocent Amy Adams.

Overall, Miss Pettigrew is about finding the truth: about love, about the important things in life and about the inner self. You know, in the end the truth will save the day!