“Being nice isn’t being weak”: Lucas Bravo and Anthony Fabian on Mrs Harris Goes to Paris

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is the glorious new Cinderella-esque film from Anthony Fabian, adapted from Paul Gallico’s 1958 novel, Mrs ‘Arris Goes to Paris. It follows a widowed cleaning lady in Battersea who, upon stumbling across a Dior dress belonging to one of her clients, sets out on a mission to own one of her own.

Lesley Manville, after years of diverse roles as a character actress, is finally fully unleashed as leading lady Ada in a kind of strange contrast and parallel to her exceptional turn as the uptight sister of Daniel Day Lewis’s character in another period fashion film, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread. She brings a charm and lightness to the role that nonetheless is fully grounded, putting the still-burning desires of an older woman centre-stage. Alongside her is an ensemble cast that features the likes of Jason Isaacs as her fellow Battersea friend, Lucas Bravo (of Emily in Paris fame) as one of the Paris fashion circle that welcomes her, and French superstar Isabelle Huppert as the snooty Dior director, who is less than impressed with her social status. With this, sumptuously reimagined Dior fashions from the time (courtesy of Jenny Beavan), plus exceptionally realised sets that bring 1950s Paris to life in all its nostalgia-tinged beauty, you’d have to be hard of heart not to be whisked away by this fairytale that reminds us to never let go of our dreams.

The Upcoming had a lovely chat with French actor Bravo about starring in the film, the contrast of André with his role as Gabriel in Emily in Paris and the experience of working with two female icons in Manville and Huppert.

We also heard from filmmaker Fabian about his love of Gallico’s novels, creating the lustrous world of 1950s Dior fashion and Paris in Budapest, as well as casting Manville as his star off the back of her Oscar nomination for her performance in Phantom Thread. 

Sarah Bradbury

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is released nationwide on 30^th September 2022.

Watch our interviews with the cast and creatives on the red carpet here.

Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Mrs Harris Goes to Paris here: