Written & Directed by: Anthony Fabian
Also Written by: Carroll Cartwright & Keith Thompson
Starring: Lesley Manville, Jason Isaacs, Lucas Bravo, Alba Baptista, Rose Williams, Ellem Thomas and Anna Chancellor
As we venture into the world of 1950’s London, we meet sweet and adorable Mrs. Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) filling her days cleaning the home’s of some of London’s elite, while she patiently waits to sees if her husband will ever return from the war…
After 12 years of waiting for her beloved, and hanging out with best friend Vi (Ellen Butterfield), it seems that word has finally arrived that Ada is officially a widow…crashing her dreams of reuniting with her one true love.
But, not even this news is going to keep a good hearted girl down, as she manages to pick herself up, brush herself off, and forge forward with life as best she can. And as the days roll by, Mrs Harris suddenly finds herself mesmerized by the exquisite dress that one of her clients has just purchased, created by none other than Christian Dior.
Dreaming of the dress, and the fantasy that she creates in her own mind of owning one of these very beautiful, and very expensive creations, Mrs. Harris vows to save enough of her hard owned money to purchase one of her very own…
And when she finally gets to embark on the trip of a lifetime to Paris, Mrs. Harris soon finds that acquiring a garment from the House of Dior, may end up being way more difficult than she was initially expecting…
I give MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS a rating of 3 out of 5 Stars: Lesley Manville is just as exquisite as she always is, playing the sweet and adorable maid, Mrs. Harris. And with my own “passion for fashion”, and this lovely actress already securing her fashion sense for me, when she played opposite Daniel Day- Lewis, as his sister, in 2017’s PHANTOM THREAD, believing that she was so in love with a garment, that she would save and scrimp every last penny to secure it, wasn’t such a stretch for me to believe. I also very much enjoyed her sense of wanting to help everyone she knew in her life, at every turn, standing by while those around her seemed to never return the favor, as I felt as if I knew this storyline far too well, traveling my own life’s path. I will say that the 1st third of this film moved a little slow for me, but once you venture to Paris, and to the House of Dior, it seemed like this film became more charming, engaging, and exciting, with each passing frame. I also so enjoyed the performances by Alba Baptista and Lucas Bravo throughout this film too, as their side-stories along the way, really assisted in keeping this film flowing. And if you are one of those saps that always manages to shed a tear or two when something touches your heart, just like I, and my 22-year-old which I had in tow for the advanced screening, get ready to shed a few along the way here too, because when the emotions start flowing, and karma finally comes to roost, you can’t help but shed a tear or two for Lesley Manville’s exceptional performance as Mrs. Harris’s, and of course a for her exquisite new dress…
3 out of 5
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 