306. Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris; movie review

 

MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS

Cert PG

116 mins

BBFC advice: Mild bad language

Well, this was a disappointment.

I had planned to take my parents to see Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris but, sadly, they have both been struck down by serious Covid.

However, despite the trailer which piqued their interest, I doubt they would have been impressed.

There is no doubt Lesley Manville tries her best to give a spring in the step of Anthony Fabian's movie but it is just too twee and its finale is too neat to meet with the approval of either Mrs W or me.

Manville plays Ada Harris who had been holding on to the increasingly vain hope that her husband will still return from the Second World War- 12 years after hostilities ceased.

She ekes a living, cleaning the homes of owners who don't appreciate her as much as they should.

This especially applies to an aristocrat (Anna Chancellor) who doesn't even pay her but is prepared to spend £500 on a dress for herself.

The frock sends Mrs Harris into a frenzy and so begins the dream of her paying for one made by Christian Dior.

Thus, begins an unlikely tale of her going to the fashion designer's rather fancy headquarters in Paris.

Fabian's film looks good - its sets are bright and faithful to its 50s timeline, there is some eye-watering haute couture and Manville gives the title role everything she has.

But the story is predictable at every turn - we know that Mrs Harris will have a dozen knockbacks but that all will be well in the end.

And she is too good to be true. Ok, she shows steely determination but despite terrible rudeness aimed towards her, especially by Dior's chief of staff (Isabelle Huppert), she continues with a kind word and a smile.

Yep, it is all a bit too 'nice'. Perhaps, my mum and dad would have liked it but I won't be recommending it to them.

Reasons to watch: Verve from Lesley Manville

Reasons to avoid: Rather too twee

Laughs: Four

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? When Yves Saint-Laurent became Christian Dior’s design assistant, in, 1955, he was only nineteen years old. Two years later, Christian Dior died from a heart attack and the young Yves Saint-Laurent became the artistic director of the Dior house.

The final word. Anthony Fabian: "Since childhood I’ve been a fan of Paul Gallico as a writer and when I signed with a manager in L.A. he was also the manager of the Gallico estate. One day, he sent me a manuscript of a book of his I hadn’t read, and I was intrigued by it." Town & Country

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