This historical comedy-drama from Anthony Fabian is delightfully drawn from a 1958 novel set in 1950s Britain.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris spryly navigates through elitism and fulfillment in an amusing and rather touching manner with a couple of narrative ‘surprise’ in the last reel or so.
You don’t really have to be into the haute couture of Christian Dior like the title, widowed character, Ada Harris, becomes. as this dutiful, decent aging lady toils in the cleaning business for an opulent couple.
The House of Dior may never be the same after Ada em barks on the titular adventure with a small taste of elegance and fundamental decency emanating in crow-pleasing ways.
It all wouldn’t work as well as it does with Fabian’s assured handling of the source material. Not to mention a quite charming lead performance by English thespian Lesley Manville who was a Best Supporting Actress nominee for Phantom Thread.
What deserves to be a sleep/streaming success also benefits from solid backup from Jason Isaacs, Ana Chancellor, Lambert Wilson, and Isabelle Huppert as a pompous ‘gatekeeper’ who has her share of inviting interludes with Ada. As the tittle suggests with Fabian and Manville in control Mrs Harris hits its endearing, rhythmic stride in unexpected fashion.