Every once in a great while a movie comes along that finds its greatness within the period in which it is based. We are reminded of a simpler time, where morals were more universally celebrated, fashion was iconic for its tribute to grace and beauty, and where a protagonist is purely that, so much so that it is through their positivity for life, that positive change is given room to grow. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is such a story, delightful, wistful, and as graceful as a 1950's Christian Dior evening dress.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is based on a novella written by Paul Gallico and directed by award-winning film Director Anthony Fabian, who also shares writing and producing credits for this film. The movie stars Leslie Manville as an English cleaning lady who saves and gambles to obtain enough money to travel to Paris to purchase a Christian Dior dress, a lifelong dream of hers.
Arriving at Christian Dior, a Haute Couture shop that caters only to wealthy, Hollywood stars, and royalty, Mrs. Harris (Leslie Manville) finds herself on the outside looking in. Her indominable spirit in the face of rejection endears her to royalty (Marquis de Chassagne played by Lambert Wilson), a Dior model (Natasha by Alba Baptista), and a Dior Accountant (André Fauvel by Lucas Bravo), while also making enemies, especially of the President of the Dior company (Claudine Colbert by Isabelle Hupert) who repeatedly tries to find new ways to remove Mrs. Harris from the shop.
The story is sweet, the Dior collection used in the movie was simply divine, each outfit modeled in the Dior salesroom was breathtaking, as was our peek into the cutting and sewing rooms, not often seen in real life but beautifully portrayed in the movie.
While the underlying theme may be that while class divisions do exist, the upper-class should be open to the dreams and desires of the class of workers directly below them, that there is a wealth of knowledge to be shared between all classes. Mrs. Harris teaches us that our dreams do not have to be any grander than a Christian Dior dress to make dreams come true to the people we touch along the way, no matter their status in life.
Leslie Manville's flawless performance as Ada Harris is the foundation that every other actor has to stand upon, she is the movie's strength, as she carries the story to its predictable yet quite lovely ending. By the time we reach the movie's conclusion, she and her new friends at Christian Dior learn that generosity is a gift that one should not be recklessly given to people who don't respect you- that self-respect and respect you earn are a shared character trait.
This is an excellent film, well-directed, brilliantly acted, and beautifully costumed with a sweet story that will touch your heart as it did mine.
