“There is hope for us all.” That line acts as a coda of sorts for the final sequence in the newly released comedy “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris,” where Lesley Manville plays a widowed cleaning lady whose yearning for a couture Christian Dior dress takes her to Paris and on a string of adventures far beyond her dreams. For a time, at least. In another time, in another film, the line (not uttered by Manville) might seem too on the nose. Director Anthony Fabian is not subtle in encouraging audiences to be swept up into the gentle, sweetness of the film, which is about a lovely woman trying to do lovely things in a world that is – despite all issues – generally quite lovely. In fact, that refrain — “Oh, how lovely” — recurs throughout the film as Manville’s Ada Harris gazes on something which brings her personal joy. If this all sounds a little too sickly sweet, I’d understand. Yet, the gossamer-like fragility of this story is spun with so much earnest sincerity that its worldview that each of its principal characters is worthy of a hopeful future feels soothing.
Early sequences in the film find Manville joined by Sierra-Leonean-British actress Ellen Thomas as Ada’s friend, and fellow cleaner, Violet. The two women, both single, gossip and delight in each other’s company while on the bus to work, doing some petty gambling, or having a night out at the Legion’s Hall. Before the dress that begins to define her appears, the chemistry between Thomas and Manville situates us in the mood of this film, where good-natured kindness dominates. Even when their clients refuse to pay them, or are carelessly dismissive, Fabian’s script (he cowrites with Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, and Olivia Hetreed) centres the kindness of this pair. It’s an important set-up for the successive sequences where Ada sets out to Paris – after a stroke of good luck – armed with cash in hand to buy a Christian Dior gown. She will encounter a string of other performers, and although none of them evoke the chemistry she shares with Thomas (who reappears in some wonderful scenes in the final act), it establishes Manville’s easy charm as the nucleus for “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris”.
It is in Manville’s eyes, which fill with wonder at a fashion show at the Dior establishment. The beautiful gowns (Jenny Beavan worked with the fashion house to design the gowns in the image of Dior, from scratch) are the centre piece of this moment in theory, with a range of sumptuous colours and styles, but the camera keeps returning to Manville’s face. And it never feels as if those cuts are anticlimactic, rather it is the earnestness in her eyes, the way her body inhabits the want and yearning of someone so desperate for some magic, that turn the parade of gowns into something that we believe is magical. Certainly, much of this is confection laced – Ada plays cupid with two employees of the fashion house, inadvertently sets them on a path to save their jobs, and even pierces the iciness of the woman-at-the-helm of management. But it is a confection we are fully invested in because our faith in Manville never wavers.
We believe in her, and so believe in the film. There are few scenes where she is not at the centre, and so she shoulders the load of much that happens. But even as the performers range from English stalwarts (Jason Isaacs as a friend in England, Anna Chancelor as a briefly wonderful as a no-good client), charming, if less experienced, youngsters (the sincerely charming Ala Baptisa and Lucas Bravo as one of the best-looking couples on screen this year), to French stars (like the dashing Lambert Wilson, and Isabelle Huppert doing her best icy madame) it feels significant that each – despite their skillset – feels equally at home with Manville. Or, more accurately, Manville feels at home which each performer. On one hand, this all feels too fantastical to seem realistic but on the other hand each cadence of emotion, each earnest glance, from Manville feels too real to be anything unrealistic.
A film like this might feel like it belongs among the modest works of the 1950s, where it is set (it takes place in 1957). But as counterprogramming to the current blockbusters that dominate the big screen, it feels like a bit of found treasure. It does not quite fit into the landscape, but now that its here, it feels more valuable for it. Beyond its wonderful costumes (not just in the gowns, but in character specific touches like Violet’s number in an evening out, or the stylish suits of Wilson’s Marquis, or the harsh fitting of Huppert’s domineering boss) the other technical aspects are less overt but still winsome enough. Luciana Arrighi does some inviting work in a range of houses and locales with her production design. And credit must be given to Barney Pilling’s editing, which makes the film’s two hours go by faster than you’d expect, especially when the story does not feel like one that warrants that run time. But then, if “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris” is a sweet trifle – why not have us stay in the world for longer? She must eventually leave Paris and return to reality, in the same way we must. But our time in this fantasy is golden.
Is there hope for us all? Who can say? But I will admit that the generosity of spirit here caught me off-guard and made me genuinely moved even as a final moment of largesse felt inevitable by the film’s end. And it felt like a natural reminder that rather than surprises, a film’s ability to commit and make us invested in even the smallest of crises is something so lasting and wonderful. The political subplot that runs through Ada’s time in France feels a bit too on-the-nose, and a late sequence call-to-arms for underserved workers feels extraneous in the way it lacks the organic quality of other developments. “Mrs Harris” is at its delightful best when its stakes are so low that it tricks us into thinking it doesn’t matter and then surprising us by making us care. Why does she want this dress? Of what cosmic value is a Legion’s Dance party? Perhaps nothing on the large scale. But for this specific woman living this specific life in this specific world, it is everything. And within the fantasy world of this comedy, there is a kernel of wisdom in “Mrs Harris” that refracts through Manville’s eyes. Perhaps some good is possible in the world, even in small ways. And isn’t it nice to think that even such modest desires are worth a chance on the big screen? Kindness and warmth pour out from each scene in this film, and that feels like something to treasure.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is playing at MovieTowne.
