Delysia hires the shabby, unglamorous Miss Pettigrew as a social secretary, but Pettigrew's real job is to serve as an imposing barrier between Delysia and her needy men.
The forced hilarity of the first act finds the two women frantically juggling liaisons with the nightclub manager who pays Delysia's bills, the West End producer who may give her a big break, and the struggling artist piano player who truly loves her.
It's flat champagne, alas. The movie appears to be doomed until it shifts tone midway through, and the fizzless comedy gives way to something with a little more dramatic weight.
Intonations of a looming war (partygoers on a balcony pause to watch British bombers fly over London) become more pronounced, as when one old-timer looks at the silly revelers and says to another, "they don't remember the last one."
The final third of the movie swings attention soberly to Miss Pettigrew, whose backstory contains the residue of World War I tragedy. This enables her to make a romantic connection to a well-heeled older man (Ciaran Hinds) who is finally tired of womanizing.
The movie improves for McDormand, but Adams isn't so lucky. She's either trying too hard, or the movie behind her isn't trying hard enough - the more bubbly she is, the stiffer the production sometimes feels. *
Produced by Nellie Bellflower, Stephen Garrett, directed by Bharat Nalluri, written by David Magee, Simon Beaufoy, music by Paul Englishby, distributed by Focus Features.
