Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

In London in 1957, war widow Mrs Ada Harris 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 one of her own. After months of saving, she unexpectedly receives a war widow's pension, and travels to Paris to try to purchase one. Ada stumbles into a showing of Dior's 10th-anniversary collection and is befriended by André, the Dior accountant, and Natasha, a Dior model.

However, 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 deep red dress called the Temptation, but a high-profile client spots her interest and spitefully places a competing order. Dior prioritizes the existing client, 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, inviting her to spend time with him. She faces disappointment when the Marquis reveals he was 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. This includes 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 them becoming a couple.

Ada returns to London with her dress, intending to show it off at a community dance. Before doing so, she lends it to her client Pamela, an up-and-coming actress, who wears it to a social event. After Pamela carelessly stands too close to a heater, the dress catches fire and is ruined. Saddened and feeling like her dreams were too high, she tosses the dress into the Thames and locks herself away, to which her friends vi and archie come (bashing the door down) and they support her.

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. She 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.

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.^[13][14]

Principal photography began in October 2020.^[15] Filming took place over 40 days in Budapest, before production moved to London and Paris.^[3]

The film was supported by the National Film Institute Hungary with 279.5M HUF.^[3]

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.^[1] It was released theatrically in the United States on 15 July 2022,^[16] though it was originally scheduled to be released on 6 May.^[17] It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2022,^[18] in Hungary on 6 October 2022,^[19] and in France on 2 November 2022.^[20]

It was released on VOD platforms on 2 August 2022, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on 6 September 2022.^[21]