By Jonah Naplan

July 23, 2022

Here we have a film that appears to be the least pretentious of the entire year. Tis’ “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” a pleasant tale about a kindly British widow who wants nothing more than to have her own Dior dress. It’s the kind of film that is difficult to find unless seeked out. It definitely has a niche audience. Love movies with lots of wealthy people walking around in astonishing gowns, sipping wine, and talking about their love lives? This is definitely the movie for you. But if you don’t like that kind of thing…I dunno. Go see “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” instead.

Mrs. Ada Harris, played wonderfully by Lesley Manville, is a London cleaner with big, passionate aspirations. She’s obsessed with fashion, and really all things fancy. But she lives in a sort-of ramshackle home, and hasn’t exactly gotten her big moment just yet. We know it’ll come at some point, and not only because we know the plot wouldn’t be allowing it any other way. We know her big moment will come, because of how humble a character such as Mrs. Harris is. We just won’t be satisfied if she ends up in the same place by the end. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

After getting a huge financial opportunity to purchase her desired fancy outfit, Mrs. Harris flies to Paris, attending a fashion show at the Christian Dior building, viewing the newest additions to the boutique collection. Here she encounters the rest of this film’s main characters, including the label’s head Claudine Colbert (an enthralling Isabelle Huppert), Marquis de Chassagne (Lambert Wilson, playing a possible love interest for Mrs. Harris), the label’s accountant André (Lucas Bravo), and the brand’s top model Natasha (Alba Baptista), a character who acts in French films, in addition to her modeling career. Man, those names just make me want to read aloud in a French accent.

Those characters, excluding Mrs. Colbert, greet Mrs. Harris with open arms into the dressmaking business. They even allow our lead to help sew a gown in one scene. Mrs. Harris has her eye on two stylish dresses. The first one is a green gown called Venus, and the second—her favorite—is a vibrantly red gown christened Temptation. The only problem becomes that Dior is of course a very exclusivity-based brand, and therefore Temptation can’t be hemmed specifically to Ada. It’s already being made for a top Dior patron. So Ada decides to just go with Venus.

But this movie isn’t about either dress. It is, more-or-less, a love story. And it doesn’t just revolve around Mrs. Harris. As the film unfolds, a romance starts to develop between André and Natasha. And while it’s not necessarily rich in intricacy and melodrama, I found myself caring a lot more about their relationship that I expected myself to. This is simply because of how charming each and every character is. We even start to care about Mrs. Colbert and her relationship with her wounded husband after a while. Mrs. Harris starts a protest of sorts, compensating for the overworked Dior models. Claudine may seem antagonized in that scene, but so much more “juiciness” ends up going into her character than that one evil personality trait.

What “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” may lack in the fundamental plot department—the plot is quite thin—it makes up for in the time it takes to genuinely help you get to know the characters we’re watching onscreen. Its production design is also so rich in flavor. In one scene, when Mrs. Harris opens her bedroom window, with the Eiffel Tower looming in the background, we can almost feel the Parisian night air whipping our faces. It’s a very five-senses-based euphoric experience that only a thoughtful director such as Anthony Fabian can pull off. I was reminded of some of the enveloping atmospheric directing techniques Martin Scorsese used in his excellent movie, “Hugo,” another film that used Paris as its backdrop. “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is another example of a movie that makes you so easily smell pastries, the scent wafting from the bakeries Mrs. Harris strolls by.

This is a delightful movie. It has all of the warm and fuzzy feelings you’d expect from a film like this, and extends beyond that reach. It kinda just makes you feel cozy inside. I feel much the same way about this movie that I do about “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” And there’s nothing wrong with that.