Touchstone and Beyond: "Jefferson in Paris"
Marquee Attraction: Jefferson in Paris
Release Date: March 31, 1995
Budget: $14 million
Domestic Box Office Gross: $2,473,668
Plot Synopsis
Thomas Jefferson is off to Paris, whereas the minister for the fledgling US is making connections and enjoying the high life of France. With his daughter Patsy, he meets the rich of France and Europe and takes a special interest in a Mrs. Maria Cosway. Though married, they fall in love and have a quiet and private ‘friendship’.
As time passes, Jefferson tries to guide his daughter Patsy without the wisdom of her deceased mother, manage his role as a representative to the new fledgling country, and navigate the growing discontent of the French people as the realize their King and Queen would sooner party in luxury then feed the people.
When Jefferson’s slave Sally Hemings joins the group, the master’s love for his property leads to a relationship, and Sally being pregnant. Jefferson is recalled to the US and is forced to end his personal relationship with Maria but is confronted with a problem.
James and Sally Hemings want to be free. They have tasted liberty in France where slavery is outlawed, and they force Jefferson to promise their freedom upon his death.
Standing Ovation
Thandiwe Newton is phenomenal. Her Sally is layered with depth and emotion that carries her character to the lead of the film, even though she is not seen until half-way through the movie.
Setting the movie in eighteenth century France is always fantastic. This makes for great cinema.
Time for the Hook
Nolte looks like he doesn’t understand the assignment. I just don’t accept him in the role of Jefferson. Knowing that Christopher Reeve was the original choice of the director makes me sad. I feel like Reeve would have elevated the film and made the movie standout and perhaps gained the actor an Oscar nomination.
The script is all over the place. There are four stories happening, Jefferson’s role in Paris, the father/daughter dynamic, the romance with Mrs. Cosway, and Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemings. The film is plagued with interruptions, and there isn’t enough balance to help smooth over the rough edges to the movie. The main plot of Jefferson’s relationship with Maria Cosway feels insignificant.
Bit Part Player
Lambert Wilson as the Marquis de Lafayette. Fans of The Matrix will recognize this actor, and Wilson always manages to use his distinct inflections to make his characters memorable.
Did You Know?
- James Ivory was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
- The film was nominated for Best Sound Editing by the Motion Picture Sound Editors.
- At the time of the film’s release Madison Hemings assertion that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings six children was a controversial assertion. After the film was released, DNA testing was conducted which proved that Jefferson was indeed the father of her children. Monticello, the historic site of Jefferson’s home has extensive information about Sally Hemings and slavery at the famed home.
- Jack Nicholson was considered for the Jefferson role. This would have been a mistake.
- James Ivory had wanted to cast Christopher Reeve as Jefferson, but the studio wanted a bigger name in the lead and pushed for Nolte.
- Michael Lonsdale plays King Louis XVI. He was sixty-four at the time of shooting, the real king at the time of his execution was 39.
- Sally Hemings was fourteen during the Jefferson trip to Paris.
- Gwyneth Paltrow has the exact same birthday as her character Martha ‘Patsy’ Jefferson on September 27, exactly two hundred years apart.
- In a 2020 interview with ‘Vulture’ Newton describes how she loved working with James Ivory, but looking back on her work, she would approach the role in a different way. She describes how she would have pushed for the film to be more about Jefferson and Hemings. Apparently, according to Newton, she and Spike Lee have had a difference of opinion over her work in the film.
- The film grossed just over $61 thousand dollars its opening weekend.
Best Quotable Line
As the French Revolution is fomenting around them, Jefferson’s line is interesting to say the least. “There is nothing to fear in the triumph of the people." Sorry Thomas, there is much to fear in the madness of a crowd of people who are acting like feral animals and clamoring for violence.
Bill’s Hot Take
Nick Nolte is a talented brilliant actor who has charm and style in his films, I love I Love Trouble even though no one else does, because of Nolte and how funny he is. He was woefully miscast for Jefferson in Paris.
Casting Call
- Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson
- Greta Scacchi as Maria Cosway
- Gwyneth Paltrow as Patsy
- Thandiwe Newton as Sally Hemings
- Seth Gilliam as James Hemings
- James Earl Jones as Madison Hemings
Production Team:
Directed by James Ivory
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Merchant Ivory Productions / Centre national du cinema et de l’image animee
Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
My Critical Response
{Snub-Skip this Film, Lifeboat Award-Desperate for Something to Watch, Commuter Comforter-A Perfect Film for Any Device, Jaw Dropper- You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen, Rosebud Award- This Film is Cinema.}
Jefferson in Paris is a unique film in the oeuvre of Touchstone Pictures. In one way, it’s a huge swing for the company to make a prestige film with a respected director and producer who crafted some brilliant films like Howard’s End and The Remains of the Day. However, Jefferson in Paris never lands like the other two masterpieces, because the script is incomplete. The film starts with Madison Hemings, played by James Earl Jones, recounting in the mid 1800s how he is the son of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings. The problem is that if this is how the film begins, why does it take so long for Sally to become a major part of the story.
I feel like the movie was trying to tell too much thus it lost the focus it needed. Perhaps if it was simplified, Nolte could have shined, but Jefferson in Paris never gets to the level of brilliance that it should have.
Jefferson in Paris gets my Lifeboat Award. If you are desperate for something to watch, then check this film out. Don’t worry if you miss it, you aren’t missing out.
Coming Soon
Next week, a look back at The Light Between Oceans.