Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is so old-fashioned that I swear the screen creaked at a recent viewing. Not that being old-fashioned is entirely a bad thing.

Without a trace of irony, director Bharat Nalluri replicates the feel of a movie from the era in which this one is set: 1939 London, when the winds of World War II are beginning to blow. The period sets, fashions and behaviors are well-designed throwbacks, in a dry, romantically comedic vein that Noel Coward would appreciate.

Yet there is also a nagging impression of Nalluri and his cast trying too hard to be retro, twisting each screwball factor a bit too tightly. It is akin to high school drama students reviving a Coward play, rushing through his speedy dialogue without comprehending why they’re speaking so fast. There are sublime moments and just as many that are sub-par by nostalgic comparison.

The movie stars Oscar winner Frances McDormand as dowdy Miss Pettigrew, a "housekeeper of last resort" who always gets fired for her strict moral ways. She fakes her way into working for American actor Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams, doing her Enchanted thing with a whorish heart).

Miss Pettigrew has high morals and low self-esteem. Her odd
coupling with Delysia gradually provides some middle ground. Delysia has low morals and astronomical self-esteem. Her day with Miss Pettigrew will steer her toward something like balance. They're good performances but strangely not together because their bond is too instantaneous for such different personalities.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day opens Friday. Read the full review Thursday in Weekend.