Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

 

Based on the novel Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is the story of a London cleaning maid who discovers a haute couture dress by Christian Dior prompting her to travel to Paris to buy a Dior dress to the amazement of the people working for Dior. Directed by Anthony Fabian and screenplay by Fabian, Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, and Olivia Hetreed, the film is comedy-drama that has a woman who falls in love with the fashion in Paris in the hopes she can be accepted to the world despite being working class as the titular character is played by Lesley Manville. Also starring Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, Ellen Thomas, Rose Williams, Jason Isaacs, and Isabelle Huppert. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a delightful and enchanting film from Anthony Fabian.

Set in 1957, the film follows a widowed cleaning lady from London who cleans the home of a client where she discovered a Christian Dior gown as she falls in love with and wants to get one herself where she travels to Paris to purchase a gown to the surprise of the people working at Dior. It is a film that follows this woman in Ada Harris who had lost her husband 13 years ago in World War II as this encounter with this Dior gown while cleaning a client’s apartment has her wanting a dress herself. The film’s screenplay is largely straightforward as it plays into Mrs. Harris’ life cleaning homes for some posh clients including a young struggling actress in Pamela Penrose (Rose Williams) yet is the discovery of this dress that has her aiming for a new dream where she would raise enough money from work but also some overdue war-widow pension and luck gives her enough money to not only travel to Paris but to also buy a gown.

While the house of Dior where its designer (Philippe Bertin) makes the dresses with his employees is exclusive, Mrs. Harris manages to come in with money to buy one to the surprise of many including its director Claudine Colbert (Isabelle Huppert) to reluctantly let Mrs. Harris see the dresses with other rich and exclusive clientele including Marquis de Chassagne (Lambert Wilson) who is friendly to Mrs. Harris. Colbert is unsure about Mrs. Harris buying something expensive from Dior yet the fashion house is going through financial issues due to the exclusive rich clientele that hasn’t paid for the service that Dior and his employees have done. Mrs. Harris would also befriend the accountant Andre` Fauvel (Lucas Bravo) and a young model in Natasha (Alba Baptista) who are both going through their own issues individually as well as their own feelings for each other. Marquis de Chassagne’s friendship towards Mrs. Harris has him reflecting on his childhood but also realizing that Mrs. Harris is a woman that has a lot more to offer as the people at Dior would make a dress that doesn’t just live up to their standards but also something that a common woman could afford.

Anthony Fabian’s direction is vibrant in not just its settings but also in telling this story of a woman who is a dreamer that wants to have some of the best things in life. Shot on various locations in Paris and London as well as Budapest serving as additional locations for Paris and London. Fabian maintains something that is straightforward in terms of the compositions in the wide and medium shots yet does create some stylistic moments whenever Mrs. Harris is gazing over something as there is this great close-up where she is in awe while everything else in the background is moving around her. Fabian’s close-ups add to the drama but also in some of the comedic moments as it relates to some of the culture shock Mrs. Harris goes to as Paris is surrounded by trash due to a strike that is happening at that time. Especially as a woman that Mrs. Harris meet at the fashion show would buy the dress that Mrs. Harris wants as she is connected to a government official who is creating trouble for this strike.

Fabian also plays into some of the social tension and expectations for Dior and its house with Fauvel having some ideas of how to help the house save itself financially as well as not layoff any of its workers and models. It is a key moment late in the film’s second act as it would also play into Colbert’s development as someone who is really protective of Dior and the brand where Mrs. Harris would make a discovery of Colbert’s life outside of Dior that would be a key moment into their tense relationship. Then there’s the dress that people in Dior made for Mrs. Harris as it showcases the amount of work, effort, and craftsmanship that is put into a dress as it is something Mrs. Harris is aware of as it play into what Dior needed to do for their future. It also plays into a dream that Mrs. Harris is trying to fulfill given the fact that she lost her husband and was directionless for years. Especially as reality would set in but it is through her good heart and determination is where the film shows what it needed to be to show the kindness of people no matter where they’re from or what social class they’re in as long as they appreciate the little things that makes life meaningful. Overall, Fabian crafts an evocative and heartfelt film about a widowed cleaning maid traveling to Paris to buy a Christian Dior gown.

Cinematographer Felix Wiedemann does amazing work with the film’s cinematography from the greyish look of London to a more colorful tone for the scenes in Paris in its interior/exterior scenes. Editor Barney Pilling does excellent work with the editing with its stylish approach to dissolves and other stylish cuts to play into the world of haute couture fashion. Production designer Luciana Arrighi, with set decorators Fotini Dimou and Nora Talmaier plus supervising art director Andrew Munro, does brilliant work with the look of the Dior fashion house as well as the more modest homes of Fauvel and Mrs. Harris with the latter being a small apartment in London. Costume designer Jenny Beaven does phenomenal work with the costume design from the ragged yet plain clothing that Mrs. Harris and her British friends wear to the more stylish clothes of the people in Paris as well as the gorgeous design of the Dior dresses that has so much attention to detail as it is a highlight of the film.

Hair/makeup designer Csilla Blake-Horvath does nice work with the look of the characters as well as some of the hairstyle of the times in Paris that the younger women have as well as the different looks that Colbert would have. Special effects supervisors Neal Champion and Robert Horvath, along with visual effects supervisors Nikolas d’Andrade and Sander Jansen, do terrific work with the visual effects as it mainly serves as set dressing for some of the locations as well as a key scene at a London bridge. Sound designers Emiliyan Arnaudov and Marc Lawes do superb work with the sound in the way things sound from afar inside an apartment as well as other natural sounds that appear in the film. The film’s music by Rael Jones is wonderful for its lush and sumptuous orchestral score that is full of rich string arrangements and melodic elements while music supervisor Dushiyan Piruthivirajah provides a soundtrack with some can-can music as well as pop/rock n’ roll music from Chuck Berry and Juliette Greco.

The casting by Katalin Baranyi, Andy Pryor, and Mathilde Snodgrass is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Freddie Fox as a RAF officer who delivers Mrs. Harris her widow’s pension, Guilaine Londez as a posh woman in Mathilde Avallon who buys the dress that Mrs. Harris wants, Dorottya Ilosvai as Avallon’s daughter, Delroy Atkinson as a bus ticket handler in Chandler, Christian McKay as a client of Mrs. Harris in Giles Newcombe, Bertrand Poncet as a Dior designer in Monsieur Carre`, Philippe Bertan as the famed designer Christian Dior during his final year in his life, Roxane Duran as a secretary in Marguerite, and Anna Chancellor as a posh client of Mrs. Harris in Lady Dant who would have the Dior dress that Mrs. Harris discovers. Jason Isaacs is superb as Archie as a friend of Mrs. Harris who is always fond of her as he also helps out with money since he works at the dog races. Rose Williams is fantastic as a young struggling actress in Pamela Penrose whom Mrs. Harris cleans for as she always looks at Mrs. Harris as a godmother of sorts despite the fact that she’s not very smart.

Ellen Thomas is excellent as Mrs. Harris’ friend Vi Butterfield who is also a cleaning maid that is a bit more of a realist yet often brings a lot of laughs and support as a woman who does what she can to help Mrs. Harris as well as be a source of joy. Lucas Bravo is brilliant as the young accountant Andre` Fauvel who befriends Mrs. Harris while expressing his ideas to her in how to help Dior get out of its financial troubles. Alba Baptista is amazing as Natasha as a Dior model who shares Fauvel’s love for existential philosophy as she copes with the pressures in being a model as she also finds support in Mrs. Harris. Lambert Wilson is incredible as Marquis de Chassagne as a wealthy man who is fascinated by Mrs. Harris as she reminds him of a woman who cared for him in boarding school while also realizing that she has a lot more to offer than the people in his social circle.

Isabelle Huppert is phenomenal as Claudine Colbert as the director of Dior who is also Christian Dior’s greatest protector as she is a woman trying to run things while being skeptical towards Mrs. Harris only to realize her value as well as her own similarities with Mrs. Harris in the way they run things. Finally, there’s Lesley Manville in a spectacular performance as Mrs. Ada Harris as this widowed cleaning maid whose encounter with a Dior gown has her reaching for a new dream where Manville brings this exuberance and charisma to a character that is a dreamer but also is willing to fight for those who are feeling defeated as it is a performance for the ages for Manville.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a sensational film from Anthony Fabian that features a tremendous leading performance from Lesley Manville. Along with its supporting ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, its exploration of fashion and what it does for people, Jenny Beaven’s incredible costume design, and a sumptuous music score. It is a film that explores a woman who just wants to buy an expensive gown while bringing some joy to a fashion house that needed to be appreciated for their hard work and dedication to fashion. In the end, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a phenomenal film from Anthony Fabian.

Anthony Fabian Films: (Skin (2008 film)) – (Louder Than Words)

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