This fish-out-of-water tale is very charming and one of the feel-good finds of 2022. There are times you just want to be entertained and it’s a fine art to produce a film that delivers pure entertainment without veering too far into the saccharin trap.
Underlining the frivolities is some consistent commentary on the class system and the vanity and entitlement that the upper classes feel they are entitled to. Through it all, the down-to-earth nature and honesty of Mrs Harris (Lesley Manville) shines through. Set in post-World War II England. Mrs Harris ekes out a living cleaning the houses of the well-to-do.
Her husband has been missing since the war and she works hard to make a living but she still has dreams. One of those dreams is to go to Paris and buy a frock from Dior. When circumstances conspire to bring reality to her wishes, when she arrives in Paris she runs headlong into the snobbery and dismissiveness that exists in the high-end fashion world.
The harsh truths of life in the first few post-war years are not entirely glossed over but their existence forms a backdrop to show the strength of character and kindness that some were capable of in those hard times. Those contrasts are what drive the narrative and make it easy to overlook some of the predictability of the story. This is one to just enjoy.
Rob Hudson
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