In theaters

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, directed by Bharat Nalluri, written by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, 92 minutes, rated PG-13.

The first third of “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” is so irrepressible, there’s no keeping the thing down. The direction, staging and acting are so high-strung, there’s every indication that its main character, a failed governess named Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), might be found dead from exhaustion by the end of it – right along with the rest of the characters.

Pressed to capture the tone of screwball farce, all involved goes out of their way to do so, straining the movie’s seams in ways that can put one off in the face of such excess.

Then there’s a shift.

Working from a screenplay David Magee and Simon Beaufoy based on Winifred Watson’s 1938 novel, director Bharat Nalluri eventually allows his romantic comedy to settle into itself. The over-the-top energy he favors at the start is dropped several notches, where it achieves a less stagy feel. Characters come into their own. The film never shakes the formula it courts, but it still becomes more enjoyable as it unfolds.

Set on the eve of war in 1939 London, the film follows Pettigrew, a disheveled, out-of-work mess whose luck appears to have run dry until the day she meets Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), an American singer and wannabe actress who is busy juggling the affections of three men in an attempt to climb to the top.

First up is Phil (Tom Payne), a wealthy young producer whose father owns the theater at which Delysia is trying to land her first major acting gig. Second is rich Nick (Mark Strong), who lends Delysia his swank apartment while he’s away on business and who owns the cabaret at which Delysia performs with her boyfriend, Michael (Lee Pace), a struggling pianist whose love for Delysia in genuine. Trouble is, Delysia is such a cheerful little climber, she doesn’t believe that love is what she needs at this point in her life. Certainly, it isn’t as important as the critical and financial success she craves.

Enter Miss Pettigrew, a moral force who knew love once and lost it. She’s so desperate for a job, she wedges herself into Delysia’s life as her social secretary and then becomes her unwitting guide to what matters in life. Over the course of one day, the two change each other profoundly, with Pettigrew gently guiding Delysia toward the one man who should matter most in her life, while Delysia ushers Pettigrew into another world – one in which high fashion matters and dramatic makeovers can take place.

It certainly does for Pettigrew, who is scrubbed from head to toe and catches the eye of lingerie designer Joe (Ciaran Hinds), whose relationship with snarky Edythe (Shirley Henderson) is on the rocks. Since Edythe isn’t about to lose Joe, and particularly because she knows a few secrets about Pettigrew, complications thicken for all as the movie mounts to a climax that’s at once airy and serious.

The air belongs to Adams, whose Delysia bounces through the movie until the ramifications of her selfish behavior stop her cold. Adams is very good here, somehow making Delysia likable in spite of her willingness to hurt Michael repeatedly.

As for McDormand, it’s through her nuanced performance that Nalluri strikes his best observations about the meaning of love and friendship in middle age. In the frenetic early scenes, when she’s asked to be a vehicle for comedic farce, she gives it her best shot and is as good as she can be given the weaker material. But it’s at the movie’s end, when she’s called upon to act and touch you with the truth, that she is at her best, stepping outside the film’s limitations and creating a better movie in the process.

Grade: B-

On DVD

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, directed by Tim Burton, written by John Logan, 117 minutes, rated R.

Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is bloody, yes – and it’s also bloody excellent. Based on Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s long-running musical, what Burton has created is one of last year’s best movies, a dark, violent musical that thrums with menace, mischief and malice.

Decked out in a blowout fright wig is Johnny Depp in the title role. Here, taking another risk in a career built on them, Depp gives a meaty performance (sorry) as Todd, the gifted, 19th century barber who begins the movie armed with revenge.

Early on, we’re offered a glimpse into Todd’s past, when he was named Benjamin Barker and was a happy family man with a beautiful wife and baby daughter. Each was undone by the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who wanted Barker’s wife for himself and who set about getting her by devising a plan that sent Barker to prison.

Fifteen years later, Barker has escaped, assumed the name Sweeney Todd and is now in London, where he meets the not-so-lovely Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), a glowering frump notorious for her shoddy meat pies. Together, they make a mutually beneficial pact. Mrs. Lovett will allow Todd his revenge on Turpin so long as he provides her with a steady supply of meat for her increasingly popular pies. Since Todd has gone mad, let the slicing and dicing begin.

Not to mention the singing, which is good, as is the energy that comes from the film’s darkly funny musical numbers. Supporting turns from Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower and Jayne Wisener are superb, but the movie’s real magic is sparked by Depp and Carter, who create something of a bruise on screen, and whose performances are so intoxicating, they encourage you to enjoy all the sins ground within.

Grade: A

WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, video podcasts, iTunes portal and archive of hundreds of movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.