Jefferson in Paris (1995)

One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old ... See full summary »

Director:

James Ivory

Writer:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Gwyneth Paltrow, Estelle Eonnet

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)

Storyline

One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old slave Sally Hemings. JEFFERSON IN PARIS follows Jefferson to France (as the U.S. ambassador to the court of Louis XVI), following the death of his wife his friendships and flirtations with the French, his relationship with his daughters and slaves from home (especially Sally), against the backdrop of the beginning of the French Revolution.

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Plot Keywords:

thomas jefferson | french revolution | friendship | ambassador | father daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

31 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jefferson em Paris

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,474,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Merchant Ivory Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gwyneth Paltrow's real life mother, Blythe Danner, played Martha Jefferson in 1776 the mother of her character.

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Goofs

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

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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.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"QUARTET OPUS 7, NO. 1 FOR HARPSICHORD, TWO VIOLINS & CELLO"
Music by Johann Schobert
Performed by Simon Heyerick (violin), Bernadette Charbonnier (violin), Jory Vinikour and David Bahanovich (cello)

User Reviews

Jefferson in Love

We are invited here to see some of the more infrequently discussed aspects of the multifaceted Thos. Jefferson: architect, scientist, horticulturalist. Less of these perhaps than we might like, but more than we usually receive. Jefferson the scientist is mostly implied -- he witnesses one of the early Montgolfier ballooning experiments, for example.

The primary focus is on the contentious matter of Jefferson's affairs of the heart. These include, most notably, a speculative miscegenetic one, but there is a second one, better documented, for contrast. Even if one suspects that the decision to direct attention here was primarily a commercial one, those portions of the film are well enough executed, while the creators, Prawer Jhabvala and Ivory, do provide us with a little seasoned food for the intellect, both here and elsewhere.

"Jefferson in Paris" does contain a few speech anachronisms but otherwise seems to have found the flavour of the period. Altogether, not an exceptional film, but one which has much to recommend it.