Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris isn’t just one of the best films of the year, but it’s a story that will stay with many people for a lifetime. It’s dazzling, tender, and brimming with unceasing hope at every corner. It’s a story about the importance of believing in our dreams, but it’s also a quiet tribute that focuses on the significance of finding someone who sees us for all we are. And though it emerges in the backdrop of the primary track, Andre and Natasha’s love story is a memorable piece of the story, which the film wouldn’t be the same without.
To make the invisible visible. Natasha is anything but invisible, yet the parts of her she wants to be seen for are parts she’s forced to hide as a model at Dior. That is until Mrs. Harris enters the picture and starts to see her as a girl whose dreams look different from the confines she’s currently in. It’s then through Mrs. Harris and the glances Andre steals as she walks over in the white dress that tells us he does too. We know from that moment that though his infatuation could be toward her physical beauty (as everyone’s is), there’s a pull much deeper he has yet to decipher.
Through the awkward string of conversations where he stumbles at the sight of her and the moments brought on by an understanding that he cannot ever be someone she chooses. A quiet romance then stirs in the gentle corners—unplanned dinners and accidental run-ins that thrust them forward. Mrs. Harris sees all this, believing with full conviction that Natasha would not only give Andre a chance, but the two would be great together. Thus, she tries to thrust the relationship forward while following her dreams.
