FILM #18
OF 39
95TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 2023 OSCARS CHALLENGE
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
BLU-RAY
DAY 24
OF 48
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Costume Design by Jenny Beavan
Let’s give credit where credit is due. “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris” is not a particularly good film. Its story is rather saccharine, and the performances are nothing to tout. However, the film garnered an Academy Award nomination on the merits of one person, the costume designer Jenny Beaven.
Beaven won her third Oscar last year for her design work on “Cruella,” so we know the Academy loves her. What makes “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris” unique is that the House of Dior partnered to make the film, as it honors some of their couture designs from the 1950s.
The plot follows widowed Mrs. Harris (Lesley Manville), a housecleaner in London, as she stumbles upon enough money to venture to Paris to purchase herself a lavish Dior dress. Generally reserved for the wealthy, the teetering Dior company sees Mrs. Harris waving around cash and puts aside its standards. And in the process, they get a glimpse at the potential of branching out into a larger market of women like Mrs. Harris.
High-profile films getting Oscar nominations is not surprising. But a film getting one that barely anyone saw is quite a feat. It shows just how much the Academy members admire Jenny Beaven’s work. The entire movie acts as a showcase for her since there’s nothing else worthy of focus.
PREVIOUS NOMINATIONS
Jenny Beavan
| 94th Academy Awards (2021) | Best Costume Design | “Cruella” | WINNER |
| 88th Academy Awards (2015) | Best Costume Design | “Mad Max: Fury Road” | WINNER |
| 83rd Academy Awards (2010) | Best Costume Design | “The King’s Speech” | Nominee |
| 74th Academy Awards (2001) | Best Costume Design | “Gosford Park” | Nominee |
| 72nd Academy Awards (1999) | Best Costume Design | “Anna and the King” | Nominee |
| 68th Academy Awards (1995) | Best Costume Design | “Sense and Sensibility” | Nominee |
| 66th Academy Awards (1993) | Best Costume Design | “The Remains of the Day” | Nominee |
| 65th Academy Awards (1992) | Best Costume Design | “Howards End” | Nominee |
| 60th Academy Awards (1987) | Best Costume Design | “Maurice” | Nominee |
| 59th Academy Awards (1986) | Best Costume Design | “A Room with a View” | WINNER |
| 57th Academy Awards (1984) | Best Costume Design | “The Bostonians” | Nominee |
A widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own.
Directed by Anthony Fabian
Focus Features
July 15, 2022
115 minutes
ACCOLADES
BAFTA Awards — Best Costume Design (Nominee)
British Independent Film Awards — Best Costume Design [Winner]
Costume Designers Guild Awards — Excellence in Period Film (Nominee)
Hollywood Critics Ass. Creative Arts Awards — Best Costume Design (Nominee)
Online Association of Female Film Critics Awards — Best Costume Design [Winner]
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards — Best Costume Design (Nominee)
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards — Best Costume Design (Nominee)
EXPERT PREDICTIONS
1. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — Ruth E. Carter
2. “Elvis” — Catherine Martin
3. “Babylon” — Mary Zophres
4. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — Shirley Kurata
5. “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” — Jenny Beavan
PERSONAL PREDICTIONS
1. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — Ruth E. Carter
2. “Elvis” — Catherine Martin
3. “Babylon” — Mary Zophres
4. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — Shirley Kurata
5. “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” — Jenny Beavan
