Bharat Nalluri Directs Amy Adams and Frances McDormand in "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day"

With its complicated romantic entanglements, Bharat Nalluri, director of "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," sees his film as a version of "Sex and the City" set in 1939. "It was really extraordinary what was happening in London at that time, such a heady, whirlwind of a time," Nalluri said via telephone from New York City. "I was kind of likening it to dancing on the Titanic; people didn't realize that World War II was arriving right around the corner and they were just partying."

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day": "Her honesty has been her trouble."

Played by Academy-Award winner Frances McDormand, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew has a habit of speaking her mind, even though that negatively affects her employment status. "At the beginning of the film, she's fired from being a nanny and it's probably because she's been too honest and too real and probably told this lady that she's really not bringing up her children very well," Nalluri said.

"At the heart of it, her honesty has been her trouble, her problem, and maybe she kind of hides it. Throughout the film, you suddenly realize she has this internal wisdom," he said.

Academy-Award Nominee Amy Adams Plays a Would-Be Actress in "Miss Pettigrew"

Hungry and homeless, Miss Pettigrew bluffs her way into the employ of Delysia Lafosse, a social butterfly and would-be actress played by Amy Adams. "She (Adams) has this amazing natural quality. Everyone falls in love with her. Really, I've never seen a happier crew in my life," Nalluri said. "She's a real girl-next-door and she's an incredibly skillful actor. I would jump at the chance to work with her again."

Delysia keeps three men on the hook, including a poor-but-honest piano player named Michael (Lee Pace from "Pushing Daisies"). "In a way, it feels very modern, the fact that there are all these relationships happening. In the end, it's an old-fashioned tale of following your heart and not your head, which I think personally cannot be said enough.

"Miss Pettigrew" is based on a Novel by Winifred Watson