"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" - Film Review
In many ways, the current emergence of media centered on kindness is to be expected. The pandemic and the societal upheavals we’ve gone through over the past few years have made people realize how essential it is to lead with compassion. Awards-darling shows like Ted Lasso and Abbott Elementary, the cozy return to Downton Abbey, and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris offer a friendly escape. They’re reminders that kindness and respect are essential to creating a better planet.
Mrs. Harris (Lesley Manville) has spent her life working in a thankless, “invisible” job as a house cleaner. She lost her husband in World War II and leads a simple life in his absence, but she has never stopped dreaming of grand adventures. Her best friend, Vi (Ellen Thomas), is a fellow cleaner and the two care for each other through the ups and downs of their lives. Vi encourages Mrs. Harris’ dreams, no matter how outrageous, including traveling to Paris to buy a Christian Dior dress.
To synthesize Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris into a simple story about a woman who wants to buy a dress is to lose the pure excitement and appreciation Mrs. Harris has for dresses. There’s a genuineness to the way her face lights up in delight as she watches the Dior models twirl in their brand new outfits. It’s an unrestrained joy that rubs off on the audience, even if they don’t care for dresses themselves.
focus features
Of course there’s much more to Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris than the story of a dress. It’s shockingly pro-workers’ rights and spotlights the existentialist movement of the 1950s as seen through the lens of a delightful love affair between a Dior model (Alba Baptista) and an accountant (Lucas Bravo) who dream of more. Isabelle Huppert revels in her role as Madame Colbert, the antagonist to the sunny Mrs. Harris. Huppert is deliciously rude, though no match for Meryl Streep’s Miranda Presley in The Devil Wears Prada. Nor should she be. Even as the antithesis to Mrs. Harris, there is a vulnerability to Madame Colbert that shines through and sets her apart from more simplistic adversaries.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a crowd pleaser in the purest sense of the phrase. It’s a reminder of the value of the small things in life. Even though the Paris streets are covered in trash from the garbage workers’ strike, it’s easy to see Paris through the eyes of Mrs. Harris. She walks through those filthy streets with sincere, earnest appreciation for every experience and opportunity that comes her way.
Early in the film, Archie (Jason Isaacs), a friend of Mrs. Harris and Vi, tells Mrs. Harris that she’s “a dreamer. Plain as the nose on your face.” This sentiment acts as the thesis for the film. This world does not progress or change without the dreamers. Those who throw caution to the wind and go after what they believe in, even when the world tells them it’s impossible. Mrs. Harris’ unrestrained enthusiasm for life rubs off on everyone she meets and, if they let it, that magic will rub off on the audience too.
Follow me on BlueSky, Instagram, Letterboxd, & YouTube. Check out Movies with My Dad, a new podcast recorded on the car ride home from the movies.