Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We’re covering the Academy Award nominees that we haven’t reviewed yet.
I tried my best to avoid Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris until it got nominated for an Academy Award (for Jenny Beavan’s brilliant costume designs, as usual); in case you don’t know, we try to cover every single Oscar nominated film on this site. Well, I groaned and I whined until I finally watched the Anthony Fabian feature, and, well, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris isn’t nearly as monotonous, vapid, or naive as I thought it would be. It was actually not too shabby. The film is a recipe for mindless viewing (and it is also the fourth visual adaptation to be made based on Paul Gallico’s novel, the other three being made for TV as a lone episode or as television films), but it has a couple of plus points in its favour. These are Leslie Manville as the titular Ada Harris (who is so likeable and honest with her familiarity that she feels like a lovely local we know dearly, not a cookie-cutter archetype) and Beavan’s costumes (more on that later).
Harris, a cleaning lady that doesn’t earn much to make ends meet, receives a pension as a war-widow and knows instantly what she wants to do: finally own a designer dress from Dior. This has always been a dream of hers, and she does know a thing or two about fashion as well (outside of being able to afford the outfits she studies). She travels to Paris with her recent fortune and heads straight to the Dior fashion house, not knowing that its tenth anniversary celebrations are underway. She is instantly met with scorn and glaring eyes by the fortunate models, designers, and hoi polloi (I use this term in the traditional, Greek sense, I assure you). She is made to feel like she doesn’t belong, and for most of the film she doesn’t care: she wants to live her single dose of true joy. It gets tough for Harris, who is met with constant conflict from the locals that don’t want her to blend in, including Dior director Claudine Colbert (played by Isabelle Huppert, who appears to have fun in a role for once, rather than place herself in punishing roles again and again).
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris could have been painfully dull, but it actually has a bit of charm and sincerity to it.
It does feel like Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris puts in a bit more effort than your typical uplifting comedy with next to zero conflict (Mrs. Harris does have to face a few uphill battles, but she’s almost always smiling while doing so). There are some side stories that go nowhere until Ada Harris shows up as the outlier and encourages new perspectives to push them along, and this kind of optimism is handled nicely. Furthermore, if the whole story here is based on one person’s fixation with a brand, we must believe their adoration, and that’s where the great Mrs. Beavan goes to work. Her costumes in this film are — like always — to die for, and an Oscar nomination was a must here. Whether you’re looking at the runway models sporting Dior couture or Mrs. Harris’ outsider, everyday get up, there are stories being told within these garments. Mrs. Harris’ wide-eyedness is shared by us, and it makes the whole picture feel a little more special for us and not just the lead character. Otherwise, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is inoffensive and fluffy. It won’t change your life, but it may just make your day, and sometimes that’s all that people want.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.