Jefferson in Paris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Jefferson in Paris

Original poster
Directed by James Ivory
Produced by Ismail Merchant
Humbert Balsan
Paul Bradley
Donald Rosenfeld
Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Starring Nick Nolte
Greta Scacchi
Jean-Pierre Aumont
Simon Callow
Seth Gilliam
James Earl Jones
Michael Lonsdale
Nancy Marchand
Thandie Newton
Gwyneth Paltrow
Charlotte de Turckheim
Lambert Wilson
Music by Richard Robbins
Cinematography Pierre Lhomme
Editing by Isabel Lorente
Andrew Marcus
Studio Merchant Ivory Productions
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) March 31, 1995 (US)
May 17, 1995 (France)
June 16, 1995 (UK)
Running time 139 minutes
Country France-United States
Language English, French
Budget $14 million
Box office $2,473,668 (US)[1]

Jefferson in Paris is a 1995 Franco-American historical drama film directed by James Ivory (Previously title as "Head and Heart"). The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France prior to his Presidency, and his alleged relationships with artist Maria Cosway and slave Sally Hemings.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Set in the period between 1784 and 1789, the film portrays Jefferson as an ambassador at Versailles prior to the French Revolution. French liberals and intellectuals hope he will lead them away from the corruption of the court of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette and toward a more democratic form of government. Although deploring the poverty of the common people, he embraces the riches of French culture and civilization. It is his first time abroad, and he takes advantage of the opportunity to extend his knowledge of liberal arts and science while absorbing the refinements France has to offer.

A lonely widower, Jefferson develops a close friendship with beautiful Anglo-Italian painter and musician Maria Cosway. Although she becomes increasingly devoted to him, his attachments to the memory of his wife, to whom he promised never to marry again, and to his two daughters, especially the elder, possessive Patsy, prevent him from fully committing to the relationship. At the same time, he succumbs to his attraction to his younger daughter Polly's nurse Sally Hemings, his wife's half-sister sired by her father with one of his mulatto slaves. Sally's brother James is in Paris as well, learning to prepare French cuisine for Monticello. When George Washington offers Jefferson the post of Secretary of State, he accepts and prepares to sail home with his family. But James, having enjoyed his freedom in Paris, is not willing to return to the United States and urges Sally to remain with him. It is only when Jefferson promises he will give James and Sally - who is pregnant with Jefferson's child - their freedom that they consent to leave with him.

[edit] Production

The film was shot on location in Paris and Versailles (Château de Versailles). Many of French supported cast are members of Comédie-Française (while theater reconstruction).

It premiered at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival for Official selection. But the Palme d'Or.[2] went to Underground from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Antonio Sacchini's opera Dardanus (stage directed and choreographed by Béatrice Massin and danced by Compangie Fêtes Galantes) and Marc-Antoine Charpentier' "Leçons de ténèbres" performed and appeared by William Christie　& Les Arts Florissants with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Dardanus), Sandrine Piau & Sophie Daneman (Charpentier) and Jory Vinikour. Arcangelo Corelli's "La Folia" performed by Nolte, Scacchi, Paltrow but soundtrack CD re-recorded by Hiro Kurosaki, Emmanuel Balssa and Christie. Gwyneth Paltrow performed harpsichord pieces by herself. Scacchi acted Maria Cosway's song "Mormora" dubbed by Mary Nichols (alto) and Jan Walters (harp). Eric Bellocq acted and performed improvisation.

The film was budgeted at $14 million. It grossed $2,473,668 in the US.[1]

[edit] Cast

[edit] At Jefferson's house, the Hôtel de Langeac

[edit] At Lafayette's

[edit] At Versailles

[edit] At the Panthémont Abbey

[edit] At the Désert de Retz

[edit] At Doctor Mesmer's

[edit] At the Opera

[edit] At the Palais Royal

[edit] Pike County, Ohio

[edit] Critical reception

In her review in the New York Times, Janet Maslin called the film "an extraordinary spectacle . . . the rare contemporary film that's both an entertainment and an education, despite some glaring misimpressions that are sure to spark heated debate . . . The biggest problem with [the film] is at the basic editing level, with such abrupt jumps between diverse scenes that the film's momentum remains choppy. Overshadowed by its own ambition and not-quite-ironic pageantry, Jefferson in Paris doesn't quite come to life . . . Casting Nick Nolte as a Founding Father may sound like this film's riskiest choice, but in fact it makes solid sense. Beyond having the right physical stature for the imposing, sandy-haired Jefferson, Mr. Nolte captures the man's vigor and his stiff sense of propriety. He may not adapt effortlessly to the role of an intellectual giant, but his performance is thoroughly creditable . . . The film makers fare less successfully with Maria Cosway . . . Ms. Scacchi, the film's big casting problem, makes her so bloodless and prettily artificial that the romance never seems real. There's much more spice in Ms. Newton's captivating performance as Sally Hemings, even if she gives this teen-age slave girl the unexpected fiddle-dee-dee flirtatiousness of a Scarlett O'Hara."[3]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "The film is lavishly produced and visually splendid, like all the Merchant-Ivory productions. But what is it about? Revolution? History? Slavery? Romance? No doubt a lot of research and speculation went into Jhabvala's screenplay, but I wish she had finally decided to jump one way or the other. The movie tells no clear story and has no clear ideas."[4]

In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers said, "After a literate and entertaining roll (A Room With a View, Howards End, The Remains of the Day), the team of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala drops the ball with this droopy, snail-paced prigs-in-wigs movie. It doesn't help that Nick Nolte is such a lox as Thomas Jefferson . . . [He] seems to think that playing an introspective man means impersonating a wax dummy."[5]

Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "dull, sluggish and unfocused . . . [it] tries telling three or four stories at once, can't decide which is most important and winds up stubbing its well-manicured toes" and added, "Coiffed in a strawberry blond ponytail that makes him look like sitcom star Brett Butler, and surrounded by opulent sets and costumes that look like early bids for Oscar nominations, Nolte makes a noble, sympathetic effort to humanize a historical figure, but never manages to look anything other than tight, corseted and out of his element."[6]

In Variety, Todd McCarthy said the film "touches upon much significant history, incident and emotion but, ironically, lacks the intrigue and drama of great fiction . . . as the opportunity for drama increases with the onset of Jefferson's affair with Sally and the buildup toward the Revolution, the narrative becomes more dispersed and murky. Things happen . . . but they don't weave and dovetail in the surprising, intricate and telling ways they can in first-class fiction, some of Merchant Ivory's recent films included . . . The strong points of director James Ivory's approach here are his attentiveness to wonderful detail . . . The downside is that Ivory's reticence makes it additionally tough for an emotionally remote figure like Jefferson to come alive onscreen."[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b BoxOfficeMojo.com
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Jefferson in Paris". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3359/year/1995.html. Retrieved 2009-09-03. 
  3. ^ New York Times review
  4. ^ Chicago Sun-Times review
  5. ^ Rolling Stone review
  6. ^ San Francisco Chronicle review
  7. ^ Variety review

[edit] External links
1960s
1970s
1980s
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)  · Quartet (1981)  · The Courtesans of Bombay (1983)  · Heat and Dust (1983)  · The Bostonians (1984)  · A Room with a View (1985)  · Maurice (1987) · The Deceivers (1988)  · The Perfect Murder (1988)  · Slaves of New York (1989)
1990s
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)  · The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991)  · Howards End (1992)  · The Remains of the Day (1993)  · In Custody (1994)  · Feast of July (1995)  · Jefferson in Paris (1995)  · The Proprietor (1996)  · Surviving Picasso (1996)  · Side Streets (1998)  · A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1999)  · Cotton Mary (1999)
2000s

The Golden Bowl (2001)  · The Mystic Masseur (2002)  · Le Divorce (2003)  · Heights (2004) · The White Countess (2005)  · The City of Your Final Destination (2007)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jefferson_in_Paris&oldid=469052600"
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages