Jefferson in Paris (1995)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

James Ivory

Writer:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (written by)

Release Date:

31 March 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

French Revolution | Ambassador | Paris | Thomas Jefferson | Friendship

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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:

Gwyneth Paltrow's real life mother, Blythe Danner, played Martha Jefferson in 1776 (1972).

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie, while Sally Hemmings is in Paris, she says she is pregnant. Her first child (Thomas) was actually born a year after they returned to America.

Quotes:

Maria Cosway: That's how it is here. People play at love. It's not serious. It is different in Italy. There, we kill for it!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Dardanus (excerpts)

Better than Grandiose

So many of the negative comments seem to be reactions against either downplaying or overemphasizing Jefferson's relationship with Sally. It strikes me that this is a reasonably balanced presentation of what's been learned in recent years. Other negative critiques are the disappointments recorded by patriots expecting some grandiose pageant for Fourth of July consumption. But this is all-in-all a less pretentious and better film than the typical celebration of Americana. Nolte presents Jefferson as an idealistic but very human being. Paltrow is very persuasive as Patsy, and many of the rest of the cast present excellent (or well-proportioned) characterizations. Except for some trivial inaccuracies, this is a richly textured reconstruction of history as it may very well have occurred. I find that I look in on it just about every time it pops up on cable--and I'm always rewarded.