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Review at a glance

Emily in Paris for geriatrics. Thats what cruel commentators may be inclined to label this Cinderella-ish tale, based on a 1958 Paul Gallico novella about a Battersea cleaning lady. Luckily, with the fantastic Lesley Manville as said charwoman, nothing is quite what it seems.

The books Ada Harris is a selfless and gutsy widow who falls in love with one of her clients Dior dresses. When she arrives in Paris, all set to buy a frock with her hard-earned cash, she impresses an open-minded Marquis, endears herself to practically every Dior employee she meets and is rewarded for her fairy godmother-ish ways with... flowers. She never gets to swan around in her gown. Its gutting!

In Mrs Arris goes to Paris, the spectacularly camp 90s TV movie, Angela Lansburys Ada has a bit more fun. She and the Marquis (Omar Sharif) scratch each others backs, albeit in a platonic way, and Ada gets to wear her beautiful dress, before returning to her dingy digs. The ballgown, dangling from a hanger in Adas London kitchen, performs a magical little jiggle. Thats the happy ending.

Isabelle Huppert stars as Claudine Colbert and Roxane Duran as Marguerite

This time around, its still the 1950s, but Ada, as well as being a talented seamstress, has a working libido (shes attracted to two men, including Lambert Wilsons Marquis de Chassagne, whos been royally screwed up by his upbringing). She also hangs out with fans of the left-wing intellectual, Jean-Paul Sartre, organises a workers strike, is defended by an out-and-proud communist and single-handedly circumvents the snobbery of Isabelle Hupperts Dior manager, Madame Colbert.

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris could never be mistaken for a Ken Loach polemic. But whilst showing us a lot of pretty frocks, it gets awfully close to giving the finger to feudalism.

Lesley Manville as Mrs. Harris with Lucas Bravo as Andr Fauvel

A note on the frocks. The majority of them (whether recreations of Dior New Look classics or originals designed by three-time Oscar-winner Jenny Beavan) are sublime. But one dresscoat resembles a tiny and poorly assembled tent. Or a giant tea cosy. Either way, its horrid. Ada, thank goodness, gravitates towards two outfits cut from a different cloth and, in the films suspenseful last third, everything works out in a way thats utterly delightful.

Years ago, when I told a friend I was naming my daughter, Ada, they were horrified and said, That sounds like the name of a cleaning lady! Heres to Manvilles Ada, a woman who knows youre never too old or too working class to be one of the happiest belles at the ball.

115mins, cert PG

In cinemas

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Mrs Harris Goes to Paris movie review: a sweet treat with a side order of socialism - Evening Standard