BON VOYAGE
Image: Lesley Manville stars as Mrs Harris, in Mrs Harris Goes to Paris.
Photo: Dávid Lukács / © 2021. Ada Films Ltd.
FILM: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
(Entertainment One, in association with Elysian Films, Hungarian National Film Fund, and Umedia, with Moonriver Content, Superbe Films, and Hero Squared, 2022)
REVIEW: Kyra Pollitt
Most would agree that the 1992 television adaptation of Paul Gallico’s best-seller, (Doubleday,1958; Flowers for Mrs. Harris/ Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris), was not the late and loved Angela Lansbury’s best work. But this version, directed by Anthony Fabian, with screenplay by Carroll Cartwright, Olivia Hetreed, and Keith Thompson, is a rather different proposition.
Released across the USA in July, this light-hearted, feel-good comedy-drama is now on release across India and the UK. Set in 1950s London, it tells the story of a widowed cleaning lady who falls madly in love with a Dior couture dress and decides she must have one of her own.
Image: Poster. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Ada Films Ltd.
The lead role is taken by Lesley Manville, who plays to her national treasure status, and there are star turns from Isabelle Huppert as the steely, but misunderstood, Claudine Colbert; Lambert Wilson as the Marquis de Chassagne; Alba Baptista as the face of Dior; and Lucas Bravo as her love interest.
The story gently raises questions of class, and what it means to own something. That Mrs. Harris’ diligence and application to her craft does not reward her with the finer things of life is echoed in the tenuous positions of the cutters, embroiders, and embellishers at the House of Dior. There are questions, too, about the role fashion plays in our creation of self, and our reception in society.
But don’t see this film for any deep philosophy or complex plot. This film is a cupcake; slightly too sweet, familiar, and sometimes exactly what you need.
Image: Still. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Ada Films Ltd.
Do see the film for the costumes. The opulence comes courtesy of Dior, who apparently lent the film five outfits from its heritage collection. The rest comes from the skilled eyes and hands of multi-Academy Award winning Jenny Beavan. Known for her work on The King’s Speech (2010), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and Cruella (2021), here Beavan and her team recreate both the vintage Dior look, and the everyday costume of working class, 1950s London— the time and place of Beavan’s own birth.
To see Beavan’s recreations of these garments and styles— that revere collar, that heel —is to immediately understand the values and milieu of Mrs. Harris and her circle. I, for one, will be incorporating the knotted headscarf into my wardrobe from here on.
Image: Still. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Ada Films Ltd.
But there is plenty here for those seeking a fix of couture. Production designer, Luciana Arrighi, is a former couture model, so her recreation of the Dior salon is both enchanting and, one suspects, reasonably accurate. To make her recreations, Beavan had access to the House of Dior’s own replica collection, and a free hand with her colour palette.
Beavan considers herself ‘a storyteller with clothes’ and, in this film, the clothes are the story.
Oh, and did I mention the cherry on the cupcake? A certain Jason Isaacs, playing Mrs. Harris’ rakish neighbour, dripping with Irish brogue.
Trailer: Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Ada Films Ltd.