REVIEW: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is the Feel Good Film We Need

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a film is like a warm hug. It is a film that needs to be watched if you are having an off day or just want to watch something that will make you feel good. The film follows British housekeeper Mrs. Ada Harris (Lesley Manville), who has a slew of luck and comes into a little money. Instead of holding onto the money, Mrs. Harris decides she is going to go to Paris to buy herself the couture Christian Dior gown she has always wanted. During her trip to Paris, Mrs. Harris gains more than just a dress, she learns something about herself and changes the lives of the people she comes in contact with while on her trip, including Dior’s Accountant, André Fauvel (Lucas Bravo) and Dior model, Natasha (newcomer Alba Baptista).

Based on the book by Paul Gallico, Anthony Fabian steps in as director, producer, and co-writer on the film and does a fantastic job. Fabian marvelously takes the audience back to the 1950s and what the House of Dior looked like during that time. It was fun to watch how the fashion world ticked during this time period and how hard it was for a person like Mrs. Harris to obtain her own custom-made Dior gown. The story seamlessly navigated the time period and never deviated from its overall story. A lot of this had to do with the cast Fabian had assisting him in telling the story.

Manville is pure delight in this role. Everyone will want to have a Mrs. Harris in their life when the credit’s start to role. She brings such warmth to her performance and will have you captivated from start to finish. Manville is joined in the film by Emily in Paris’ Bravo and newcomer Baptista, and both are wonderful alongside Manville. Isabelle Huppert plays the film’s ‘villain,” if you can even call her a villain, Claudine Colbert and does exactly what is needed for her role. Her back-and-forth banter with Manville is fun to watch unfold on screen, but it is her nonverbal communication that takes the cake for me. She does a great job conveying what her character is feeling in a scene without having to say a word. Jason Isaacs rounds out the cast as Archie and my only wish from his character was that he was in it more.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a film I definitely recommend watching. It a feel-good film that will have you walking away in a better mood than when you first started watching it. It is not a film you have to be paying 100% attention to to understand what is going on, which is a nice change from most films that have been released this year, but it is a film you will want to watch.

Grade: A