Jefferson in Paris (1995)

Great Film overall

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I've enjoyed several earlier Merchant-Ivory films very much: Remains of the Day, Howard's End, Maurice. But this one, though it has all the same basic ingredients - director, script writer - left me flat. It moved far too slowly, and never caught me up in Jefferson the man - though I have always found Jefferson very interesting. We never see any conflict in Jefferson between his supposed vows to stay faithful to his first, deceased wife and then his feelings for either Maria Cosway or Sally Hemmings. Indeed, we really get very little sense of his feelings for Hemmings at all, and certainly they would have been complex. Nor do we ever learn why Jefferson's older daughter wants to convert to Catholicism - that, too, given her upbringing, would have caused conflicting emotions. There is also very little connect between Jefferson and the Revolution getting underway. The costumes and sets are all very beautiful, of course, and no doubt very well-researched. But I got no sense of Jefferson from this movie. (I leave to one side the issue of whether Jefferson did actually father Hemmings' children; this isn't a documentary, so that's not relevant.)

This film did not make too much of a splash when it was in the theatres here after its initial release but I was fortunate to watch it last evening on a purchased video. I am glad that I saw this film and that, at least for me, it did not just pass into the oblivion of movies that do not make waves when released. I found the film absorbing; the characters were well formed-Nolte particularly was out of the stereotyped roles he is usually landed with and Scacchi played her role to her usual excellence. The stars, however, where Sally and her brother who stole the show from these aforementioned veterans. They nuanced their roles perfectly and brought substance to the many layers of history and social maneuvering that was so much a part of this turbulent period.This was not a lazy persons afternoon time filler. This film demands attention from the viewer because those many layers must be watched carefully or else the whole film loses its continuity. The story is composed of many distinct pieces forming, not only Jefferson's domestic concerns but also the historical whirlwind of this convulsive period in French history. I thought James Ivory did a marvelous job of stitching together the many facets of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's insightful script. This was a momentous period and I do not believe the script was too complex-anything less would not have done justice to this complexity, interest and beauty of this turbulent period in history.I believe the movie works on many levels and I am hugely happy that even late I was able to see this great film.

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.

Even though this film's trailer and poster imply that Sally Hemmings was an important character, I might not have been as shocked to discover she was just a minor (and I do mean Minor) character if this movie was suppose to being told by Sally's very own family! I mean if you are going to tell the story of a member of your family that has been ignored by history, would you really tell it with the man who relegated her to obscurity at the main character? His other lover (who happens to be white) as the actual love interest? I know I wouldn't! I am as pale as they come and normally a big fan of Merchent~Ivory flicks, but I couldn't stomach this film's treatment of poor Sally Hemmings.