It was said by one of Thomas Jefferson's successors that when he (John F. Kennedy) gathered a distinguished group from the arts and sciences for a White
House dinner, Kennedy was wont to remark that this was the most eclectic and
brilliant group of people ever gathered at the White House except when Thomas
Jefferson dined alone. A tribute indeed to the versatility and genius of our 3rd
president who more than dabbled in so many fields.
Philosopher, inventor, politician, farmer, musician, and chronicler of events this
film focuses on Jefferson as father and lover and slavemaster. Whatever else he was Thomas Jefferson was a product of his times and culture in the colonial plantation culture of tidewater Virginia.
Nick Nolte who did a lot of action/adventure films cuts a nice figure as Jefferson. Certainly better than the originally intended Jack Nicholson would
have been. No reflection on Jack, but can you see all those imitators reciting the Declaration of Independence in that Nicholson voice?
When Jefferson became our Minister to France under the Articles of Confederation he brought his eldest surviving daughter Patsy played by Gwyneth Paltrow. He was a widower at the time, formerly married to Martha
Wayles Skelton who died in 1781.
During that time Jefferson had a rather open affair with artist Maria Cosway who was married to a regency rake type Richard Cosway. As Cosway played by
Simon Callow was a serial cheater, Maria didn't let grass grow under her feet
either. The times were pretty bawdy in Paris during those last years of Louis XVI. A seductive Cosway is played by Greta Sacchi.
Later on Jefferson is joined by his younger daughter Polly and she gets accompanied by slave Sally Hemmings who was maybe 15 at the time she first
came over. Hemmings was actually a biological half sister of his late wife,, she was fathered by the father of the late Mrs. Jefferson. As played by Thandie
Newton, Sally is one sly little minx.
Over earlier with Jefferson was her brother who was brought over to Paris to
learn the art of French cooking. The dialog between Seth Gilliam as the brother and Thandie Newton about how slaves survive in a white man's world
is quite insightful. In fact Gilliam demands and gets wages from Jefferson while in Paris.
Paris and continental France may not have had slaves, but I daresay Gilliam might have changed certain attitudes as he was not possibly aware of what the
French were doing in the West Indies, especially Haiti. That pot would boil over in the beginning of the upcoming century.
What I liked best was the recreation of decadent Paris of the 1780s before the
Revolution. The producing directing team of Merchant-Ivory did a superb job
recreating the period with Nick Nolte narrating some of the correspondence of
Jefferson as commentary. Other foreign observers had a much different take
on these events. Just read A Tale Of Two Cities for an alternative view of events.
Jefferson In Paris is a superb production and highly recommended to those who want to learn about Thomas Jefferson and a slice of the time he lived in.
