I have been waiting for this movie’s price to drop on Vudu for quite awhile. After seeing this charming film, I should have rented this a long time ago.

In 1950, Mrs. Harris (Lesley Manville), a British cleaning leady, widowed since the war, saw a couture Dior dress purchased by one of her employers and she fell in love with it. Scraping together whatever money she could muster, Mrs. Harris decided to go to Paris and purchase her own couture Dior dress.

The star of this film is clearly Lesley Manville, who is absolutely charming and effervescent as the titular character. She is a character that you just can’t help but love and who can take even the worst moment and make it better. Lesley Manville perfectly embodied this bright light of a woman, bringing a specialness to the role. Mrs. Harris is a character that can appeal to every class of people.

The story was wonderful too. Her time in Paris was treated much like a fairy tale, with the ending being the perfect cherry on the top of the sundae. There were so many ups and downs for Mrs. Harris in Paris but she brought the folksy magnetism to the characters all around Dior, and her presence brought about so many changes to the secondary characters on the screen.

Based on Paul Gallico’s novel Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris, this is the third film adaptation of that novel. Directed by Anthony Fabian, the story is simple but so effective. Lesley Manville is amazing in the role, perfectly suited to the delightful Mrs. Harris.

If you have not seen this film yet, it is worth the rental.

4.5 stars