Jefferson in Paris (1995)

Director:

James Ivory

Writer:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (written by)

Release Date:

31 March 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Plot:

One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president...

Plot Keywords:

Friendship | French Revolution | Thomas Jefferson | Ambassador | Guillotine

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Nick Nolte	...	Thomas Jefferson
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Patsy Jefferson
Estelle Eonnet	...	Polly Jefferson
Thandie Newton	...	Sally Hemings
Seth Gilliam	...	James Hemings
Todd Boyce	...	William Short
Nigel Whitmey	...	John Trumbull
Nicolas Silberg	...	Monsieur Petit
Catherine Samie	...	Cook
Lionel Robert	...	Cook's Helper
Stanislas Carré de Malberg	...	Surgeon
Jean Rupert	...	Surgeon
Yvette Petit	...	Dressmaker
Paolo Mantini	...	Hairdresser
Frédéric van den Driessche	...	Mutilated Officer (as F. van den Driessche)

Also Known As:

Jefferson à Paris (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature theme, some images of violence and a bawdy puppet show.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #33642) | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 (bw) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Sally Hemmings' gown made from the patterned gray fabric selected by Thomas Jefferson and Mrs. Cosway is the same costume worn by Jessica Oyelowo(Sarah) in Sleepy Hollow (1999), and by Billie Piper (Fanny Price) during the play rehearsal scene in Mansfield Park (2007) (TV).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Thomas buys items from Parisian merchants who use the metric system of measure over a decade before the adoption of metric units in France.

Quotes:

Thomas Jefferson: I kept having a debate between my head and my heart.
Maria Cosway: Which in your case, the head always wins.
Thomas Jefferson: Not this time. My poor head was simply whirled around by my unruly heart.
Maria Cosway: Oh-dear-God.
Thomas Jefferson: It kept telling me I love the lady and will continue to love her forever. If she were on one side of the globe and I on the other, I would pierce through the whole mass of the world to reach her.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

Soundtrack:

Mormora, ITALIAN SONGS FOR VOICE & HARP

Jefferson in Plaster of Paris

The lavish production values that you generally find in a Merchant/Ivory film are all here, but this is an exceedingly dull take on what could have been a very lively affair. I agree with an earlier poster that it makes no sense for the story to be unfolding through the eyes of an African American family and yet their own ancestor, Sally Hemmings, has barely a role to play in the proceedings. There is not much clarity to be found in helping the audience understand the motivations of any of these historical figures. And I was very bothered by the accents of a number of the characters. Nancy Marchand sounded very British for what one assumes is a French nun. And both Gwyneth Paltrow and Greta Scacchi seemed to be trying out different accents in various scenes. In fact, Gwyneth is very poorly served in this biopic. Her role as Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, is written in such a manner that we never get a handle on who she really is. One moment she is slapping a slave, and another moment, she's deploring the whole system of slavery. Nick Nolte performs the role well enough but doesn't ever make us truly care for Jefferson or any of his exploits. Very disappointing all in all.