Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Starring Leslie Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Alba Baptista

Directed by Anthony Fabian

Every now and then there's a movie that has a certain je ne sais quoi, an appealing quality that's difficult to pinpoint or express, but something that has that particular magic that you wouldn't expect. A film that's simple, small, seemingly insignificant in a world overstuffed with million-dollar blockbuster superhero CGI films or numerous big-budget sequels - one that gets forgotten, becomes invisible, and lost in a myriad of louder films. These films are the ones that need to be seen, because they offer something more than just a sense of excitement and fun, but rather penetrate your very soul and changes your whole outlook on life. Films like "Paddington 2" accomplish such feats, as whoever thought a bear with a rain slicker could invoke such heavy emotions? Likewise, "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" invokes those same emotions and more - a light-hearted, whimsical, dreamy film that is filled to the brim with saccharine sweet goodness, but unlike other films that feel forced, this one feels natural, and gives you a natural high that lasts days after the credits roll.

In London in the 1950s, Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) is a mild-mannered cleaning lady who's finally coming to terms with the fact that her husband died in the war years before, and who exists to benefit those around her - she feels invisible, but she never stops being kind and generous to her clients, even when they clearly don't deserve it. She doesn't want anything in life, until she comes across a haute couture Christian Dior dress in the home of one of her wealthy clients, and she dreams of having one of her own - but at five hundred quid, it seems impossible - but Mrs. Harris is one for making the impossible possible, so she saves her money and through a string of good luck and a widow's pension, she acculminates enough money to buy her own Dior, so she sets off for Paris.

She arrives at the Dior showroom and is instantly shunned by the no-nonsense Dior director Claudine Colbert (Isabelle Huppert), but after she shows the cash that she's saved up, is welcomed into the 10th anniversary showing by the handsome and charming Marquis dr Chassagne (Lambert Wilson). Her story draws the admiration of the Dior workers, including Dior accountant Andre (Lucas Bravo) and model Natasha (Alba Baptista), and when she learns she has to stay in Paris to get fitted for her Dior, she accepts an invitation by Andre to stay with him. As she spends more time in Paris, she learns that Andre has feelings for Natasha and vice versa, but both are fearful of expressing those emotions, so she sets out to play matchmaker, as well as helping the Dior company that's facing financial difficulties, and even touching the heart of Colbert in the process. Though she was told dreams don't come true, it seems that this time she'll be able to live out her dream, and also help those along the way achieve theirs as well.

While some films focus on manipulating the audience into achieving an emotion, "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" does so with this genuine natural way that allows you to bypass your cynical human nature and really enjoy the ride in a way that leaves you with those warm fuzzies inside, in a totally organic way. It's an amusing, rousing tale of a woman who feels invisible realizing that she's not just visible, but an irreplaceable force of nature for goodness and rightness in the world, leaving everyone changed for the better that she comes into contact with, including people who don't deserve it.

Mrs. Harris might seem like a mild-mannered cleaning lady, but she has so much more under the surface that makes her this shining beacon of hope and love. She is the best cleaning lady out there, always going above and beyond, and receiving little to no recognition for her efforts, but yet she proddles on and maintains her sense of earnest pleasantness through every rough patch life throws at her, including coming to terms with the fact that her husband isn't coming back from the war, which ended years earlier. This heartbreaking realization only makes you feel for her more, and you want to reach through the screen to embrace her in her time of need. Then when she first sees the Christian Dior dress, it's like a dream come true for her - until she learns of its cost, but even then she's not deterred, but rather concocts a plan to save every penny and work to make her dream come true. She doesn't just lay back and wait for fate to happen, but she grabs it by the horns and runs with it, which becomes all the more satisfying when she finally achieves her dream.

Yet she's not settled with just finding her dream, but she wants to help those around her find their dreams as well. In Paris she meets a bunch of different people from all walks of life, and she doesn't shun any of them, but instead embraces them. From the vagrant homeless she first encounters to the haughty elite, she manages to find a spark of goodness in each of them. From trying to help lovelorn Andre and Natasha come together to seeing even the good in the uppity Claudine Colbert to helping the under-appreciated seamstresses at Dior, no person is left untouched by Mrs. Harris's genuine kindness, which makes you root all the more for her success and pulls you in in a way where you don't realize how deeply engrossed you are in this woman's story until it's too late - you're also captivated by her natural glow.

Speaking of glow, director Anthony Fabian and his crew turn up the glow in the film in unique and subtle ways. As Mrs. Harris goes about her daily routine, everything is rather bland and bleak, but once she sees the Dior dress, the lighting intensifies, Mrs. Harris's blue eyes sparkle, and it's like you're living in a Cinderella-like dream. Though Paris is littered with debris and junk due to a workers' strike, once she sets eyes on the Dior showcase, everything is livened up again as you see the world through her eyes - a world of possibility, magic, dreams, and haute couture. Three-time Oscar winning costume designer Jenny Beavan ("Cruella," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The King's Speech") delivers the goods with her Dior styling, making you completely fall in love with the motif and surroundings, leaving you wishing for your own custom Dior dress. Everything visually about this film sparkles, further adding to the natural dream that Mrs. Harris is living through.

The performances are top notch, as you got two Academy Award-nominated actresses leading the way. Leslie Manville is a truly versatile actress and one that's terribly underappreciated, much like her character Mrs. Harris. It's ironic that her only Oscar nomination came from another couture film, "Phantom Thread," where she played a wholly different character. In that film, she played Cyril Woodcock, sister of Daniel Day-Lewis's designer Reynolds, and who is the no-nonsense director of his operations, much like Isabelle Huppert's role is here. She plays both sides of the coin, going from the mean-spirited and uppity Cyril to the world's sweetest person here, and both roles are equally impeccable. Her earnestness for the role is natural and effortless, charming and alluring, and absolutely stunning in the most simplistic way. It's easy to root for her, and even easier to fall absolutely in love with her.

Likewise, Isabelle Huppert's Claudine Colbert is just as ravishing in her role, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. At first you absolutely loathe her character because she looks down on Mrs. Harris and doesn't want her to even enter the gates of Dior, trying time and again to destroy her dreams. Even when she talks to Mrs. Harris one-on-one, she belittles her as a "nobody" and just a cleaning lady who doesn't deserve the likes of Dior, and it makes you detest her even more. While Mrs. Harris obviously doesn't care for her, much like her snobby clients, she maintains a stiff upper lip and even sees the good in her, turning Claudine's story on its head and leaving you actually feeling a sense of kindness to the heart-hearted woman by the end of it. Huppert envelops the role and makes it her own, fully encompassing her performance.

"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" is one of those smaller films that'll fall by the wayside and go unnoticed by the general movie populous due to its lack of epic storytelling, but that doesn't make it less important. Instead, it's one of those films that is demanded to be seen, because it's one that will leave you with a genuine feeling of goodness and kindness in a world that's becoming more and more devoid of such decent emotions. It leaves you wanting to be a better person, to be a kinder person, and to help people even though they don't deserve it - and knowing you won't receive any recognition for it. Like Mrs. Harris, you'll want to live out your dreams and chase them with reckless abandon, because as she proved, dreams can come true - if you work hard for them.

The Score: A+