Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a sweet film with some very Christian values

Ever thought about running off to Paris to dine at the best restaurants and then return home with a couture Dior gown under your arm? It’s the stuff dreams are made of and, in this case, Hollywood movies too. Based on Paul Gallico’s book of the same name, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris follows Ada Harris, a cleaning lady in 1950s London.

Played by Oscar nominee Lesley Manville, Ada is a kindly woman who keeps the houses clean, while keeping the secrets of the wealthy home owners. After learning her husband would not be returning from the war, Ada’s grief drove her to make a drastic decision.

The cleaner fell in love with a stunning Christian Dior gown she saw hanging in a wealthy client’s wardrobe, and decided to head to Paris to the House of Dior where she hopes to acquire a haute couture dress of her own.

As a Christian and living in a world where I am navigating a cost-of-living crisis, I was not sure I was going to find anything entertaining in a movie based on a woman’s desire to own an expensive dress. Didn’t the Bible tell us that the heart is more important that the outwardly appearance (1 Samuel 16:7)?

Mrs. Harris’ values of kindness and honesty, were warmly familiar as those I associate with Christianity.

To my delight Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is more about the content of the heart than the content of the wardrobe. Mrs Harris is an instantly likeable character. Her values of kindness and honesty, were warmly familiar as those I associate with Christianity. In partiuclar the way she treated everyone equally, whether that’s Mr. Christian Dior or the vagrant at the Parisian metro station.

There are moments of heartbreak in the film and moments which could be seen as divine intervention. There are lessons about taking risks and doing the right thing under even the most testing of circumstances. When Ada’s generous heart gets abused, she learns an expensive lesson that kindness will not always be appreciated or valued. However, to those who recognise how desperately the world needs more Adas, she was worth more than a dress, couture or otherwise.