# Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a 2022 historical comedy drama film directed and produced by Anthony Fabian, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, and Olivia Hetreed. It is the third film adaptation of the 1958 novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico. The film stars Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, Ellen Thomas, Rose Williams, and Jason Isaacs. The film enjoyed strong box office success in the United States arthouse circuit. Manville received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for her performance. The film also won a British Independent Film Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design.

## Plot

In London in 1957, Mrs Ada Harris, a widow, works as a cleaning lady. Though she is hardworking and generous, Ada's clients offer her little consideration in return. She has two close friends in Vi and Archie, both her own age.
Ada becomes obsessed with a client's haute couture Dior dress and longs for a similar dress of her own. After unexpectedly receiving a war widow's pension, she travels to Paris to try to purchase one. She stumbles into a showing of Dior's 10th-anniversary collection and is befriended by André, the Dior accountant, and Natasha, a Dior model. However, the Dior director, Claudine, resents Ada's intrusion into the exclusive world of haute couture and initially declines to accept Ada as a client. Fortunately for Ada, Dior has fallen on hard times and the company eventually agrees to accept a commission for payment in cash. Ada falls in love with a red dress called the Temptation, but a high-profile client spots her interest and spitefully places a competing order. Dior prioritizes the high profile client, a regular, and Ada has to make do with a different style, in green.
While in Paris for fittings, Ada stays with André and encourages him to express his affection for Natasha, who shares his interest in existential philosophy. Ada herself catches the attention of a Marquis, who shows her kindness and invites her to spend time with him. She faces disappointment when the Marquis reveals he was only interested in Ada because she reminded him of a cleaning lady he had adored as a child. When Claudine sacks several Dior workers for financial reasons, Ada organises a strike and forces Claudine and Christian Dior to listen to André's ideas to modernise the business, including making the shop more accessible to less affluent buyers like Ada. Claudine resigns in disgust, but is convinced by Ada to return, citing her leadership skills. Ada convinces André to reveal his romantic feelings for Natasha, leading to the two becoming a couple.
Ada returns to London with her dress, intending to show it off at a community dance. Before the dance, she lends it to a client, Pamela, an up-and-coming actress, who wears it to a social event. Pamela stands too close to a heater, the dress catches fire and is ruined. When Ada's friends from Dior read about it in the newspaper, they send her the red dress she had originally wanted, after the buyer failed to pay. Ada wears the dress to the dance, where she becomes the centre of attention. Seeing her resplendent in her dress, Archie tells Ada that she is a beautiful person, both inside and out. Archie and Ada dance.

## Cast

* Lesley Manville as Ada Harris
* Isabelle Huppert as Claudine Colbert
* Lambert Wilson as Marquis de Chassagne
* Alba Baptista as Natasha
* Lucas Bravo as André Fauvel
* Ellen Thomas as Violet "Vi" Butterfield
* Rose Williams as Pamela Penrose
* Jason Isaacs as Archie
* Anna Chancellor as Lady Dant
* Christian McKay as Giles Newcombe
* Freddie Fox as RAF officer
* Guilaine Londez as Madame Avallon
* Philippe Bertin as Christian Dior
* Roxane Duran as Marguerite

## Production

In October 2020, it was announced that Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista and Lucas Bravo had joined the cast of the film, with Anthony Fabian directing and producing the film, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Caroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson and Olivia Hetreed, based upon the novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico. Manville was set as executive producer.
Principal photography began in October 2020. Filming took place over 40 days in Budapest, before production moved to London and Paris.
The film was supported by the National Film Institute Hungary with 279.5M HUF.

## Release

In March 2021, Focus Features acquired worldwide distribution rights to Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris for approximately $15 million and distributed the film in the United States, while parent company Universal Pictures distributed it internationally. It was released theatrically in the United States on 15 July 2022, though it was originally scheduled to be released on 6 May. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2022, in Hungary on 6 October 2022, and in France on 2 November 2022.
It was released on VOD platforms on 2 August 2022, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on 6 September 2022.

## Reception
### Box office

In the United States, the film made $2 million from 980 theaters in its opening weekend; 44% of its audience were women over the age of 55. It eventually grossed more than $10 million in the United States theatrically. Deadline Hollywood described its box office performance as "strong."

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 175 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Led by a luminous Lesley Manville, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a good old-fashioned story charmingly told." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

### Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| British Independent Film Awards | 4 December 2022 | Best Costume Design | Jenny Beavan | Won |
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | 18 December 2022 | Best Costume Design | Jenny Beavan | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 6 January 2023 | Best Costumes | Jenny Beavan | Runner-up |
| Golden Globe Awards | 10 January 2023 | Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical | Lesley Manville | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | 19 February 2023 | Best Costume Design | Jenny Beavan | Nominated |
| Costume Designers Guild Awards | 27 February 2023 | Excellence in Period Film | Jenny Beavan | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | 12 March 2023 | Best Costume Design | Jenny Beavan | Nominated |
| AWGIE Awards | 17 November 2022 | Best Screenplay, Feature Film - Adaptation | Anthony Fabian & Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, Olivia Hetreed | Won |