Get to Know 'Miss Pettigrew,' And a Welcome 'Visitor'

Early spring can be the cruelest season for grown-up moviegoers, with Oscar bait a dim memory and the studios still choosing their sleeper counter-programming hits for the summer. But there's hope: March sees the arrival of "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," the adaptation of a 1938 British novel that became a sensation in that country 60 years after it was first published. The movie version stars Frances McDormand as the title character, a prim London governess who is mistakenly sent to work for a glamorous but flighty American nightclub singer. The latter is played by the radiant Amy Adams ("Enchanted"), and check out the supporting cast: Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson, Ciaran Hinds. What's not to like?

One of the more modest but haunting films on offer at last year's Toronto International Film Festival was "The Visitor," written and directed by Tom McCarthy ("The Station Agent"). The story of a mild-mannered professor whose life is turned upside down when he discovers two undocumented immigrants living in his Manhattan pied-a-terre, this tender, finely observed drama features a quietly stunning lead performance by Richard Jenkins (best known for his dryly supporting performances as dads and co-workers). And its themes -- of cultural connection, global consciousness and post-9/11 America -- couldn't be more of-the-moment.

-- Ann Hornaday