Jefferson in Paris
1995 film by James Ivory
Jefferson in Paris is a 1995 Franco-American historical drama film, previously entitled Head and Heart. It is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France before his Presidency and of his alleged relationship with British artist Maria Cosway and his alleged relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings.
- Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, directed by James Ivory.
Thomas Jefferson edit
- You will forgive my perhaps somewhat exaggerated anxiety. For an American, freedom of religious conscience is one of our great principles.
- A wise man will only depend upon himself.
- Our heart is pleased because she is pleased.
- We joined the crowd admitted, according to some ancient custom, to view the king and queen on their way to Mass. I meant to impress upon my daughter the vainglory of these spectacles. May we Americans never emulate them, nor burden our taxpayers with such useless splendors.
- You and I are alive, and the Earth belongs to us, the living.
- This line is similar to one included in an actual letter from Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes in 1813. The quote there is, "The earth belongs to the living, not to the dead."
- [referring to Franz Mesmer's animal magnetism practice] Sir, this is just trash and tricks for the weak mind.
- Sally, this is your money. It'll be right here in the corner.
Patsy Jefferson edit
Maria Cosway edit
- [to Jefferson] Do you have no son?
Sally Hemings edit
James Hemings edit
Dialogue edit
- Cook's helper: Venez prendre un verre avec nous à la taverne ce soir.
- James Hemings: Uh…pas money. Non money.
- Uh…no money. Not money.
- Cook's helper: Ici, les gens sont payés pour travailler!
- Cook: Demandez le maître pour les salaires!
- Ask the master for wages!
- Cook's helper: Vous devriez être payé comme nous.
- You should be paid like us.
- James Hemings: I was wantin' to say, Master—
- Thomas jefferson: Wanting to say what, James? I like finished sentences.
- James Hemings: Yes, Master. And what it is I was wantin' to finish is, I wants to get paid. Master, I wants money.
- Thomas jefferson: In our present circumstances, your request is not unreasonable. I shall tell Monsieur Petit that on the first of each month, you are to receive twenty-four francs by the way of salary. You realise that this arrangement holds good only in Paris, and that in Monticello, we shall revert to our own system.
- James Hemings: Yes, Master. Thank you.
- Maria Cosway: Is your daughter here to learn French manners and morals?
- Thomas jefferson: Manners, to some extent, but when it comes to morals, we should keep to our own.
- Maria Cosway: Why? Are your better than ours?
- Thomas jefferson: They are better for us, that is, for us Americans.
- Maria Cosway: Tell me about America.
- Thomas jefferson: Madame, the subject is as large as the land itself.
- Marquis de Lafayette: [reading from the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas jefferson] "WE hold theſe Truths to be ſelf-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights".
- French man 1: Tous les hommes naissent-ils vraiment égaux, Monsieur Jefferson?
- Translator: Are all men created equal, Mister Jefferson?
- French man 2: Ou serait-il plus légitime de dire, « tous les blancs naissent-ils égaux »?
- Translator: Or should this read, "all white men are created equal"?
- Thomas jefferson: We allowed for certain differences that are not caused by the laws of men, but by those of nature. And though the Negro may or may not be inferior, his status in no way alters the wrongness of slavery. It is evil.
- Marquis de Lafayette: Yet your first draft, I believe, contained a clause on the abolition of slavery.
- Thomas jefferson: I considered it essential, but Congress struck it out of the final Declaration as being too particular.
- French man 1: La question de l'esclavage reste donc ouverte et non resolve, chez vous?
- Translator: So the question remains open with you and unresolved.
- French man 2: Votre révolution, Monsieur Jefferson, nous apparait comme incomplete.
- Translator: Your revolution, Mister Jefferson, appears to be incomplete.
- Marquis de Lafayette: Why did you omit the notion of property as one of those rights?
- Thomas jefferson: Well, while I hold the right of the individual to possess property as basic, I consider it as a means to human happiness, but not as an end in itself.
- 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, by your heart!
- 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."
- See also: French Revolution
- Thomas jefferson: The people are making their voice heard. There's nothing to fear in the triumph of the people.
- Maria Cosway: Not even you are safe. Come on. Come away!
- Thomas jefferson: All they want is their liberty, their right to freedom.
- Maria Cosway: I've seen such horrible, horrible sights in the streets. It makes me fear that men are not good, not kind by nature, but cruel.
- Thomas jefferson: No. No. They have been warped by generations of tyranny, but they're naturally good. If I were not sure of that, sure of the goodness inherent in the natural man, I would no longer want to be alive.
- Thomas jefferson: You still scared of me, Sally?
- Sally Hemings: I ain't scared of you, Massa.
- Thomas jefferson: [places hand on Bible] I swear by Almighty God that upon my return to the state of Virginia, I shall, within a period of not more than two years, give his freedom to James Hemings. [removed hand from Bible] Since, however, James was brought to Paris at great expense to me for the purpose of learning the art of French cookery, he shall continue to reside at Monticello in my service until he shall have taught the same art to such persons as I shall place under him. [holds out Bible] Do you swear?
- James Hemings: [places hand on Bible] I swear.
- Thomas jefferson: [withdraws Bible from James Hemings; presumably places his own hand again upon Bible] I also hereby promise and declare that Sally Hemings, sister of James, shall be freed upon my death. Likewise all children born to her shall be freed from my ownership, or that of my heirs, upon reaching the age of twenty-one. Do you swear it, Patsy?
- Patsy jefferson: I swear.
About the film edit
- The film is lavishly produced and visually splendid, like all the Merchant-Ivory productions ("Howards End," "The Remains of the Day"). 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; it is all elaborate glimpses of a private man who, as the architect of his own home, did not see why anyone would ever want to walk upstairs side-by-side.
- Roger Ebert, "Jefferson in Paris", RogerEbert.com (7 April 1995).
- 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, despite lines like "My poor head was simply whirled about by my unruly heart." His intensely masculine presence goes a long way toward explaining Jefferson's deep, overlapping involvements with women at this stage of his life.
Cast edit
At Jefferson's house, the Hôtel de Langeac edit
- Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson
- Gwyneth Paltrow as Patsy Jefferson
- Estelle Eonnet as Polly Jefferson
- Thandie Newton as Sally Hemings
- Seth Gilliam as James Hemings
- Todd Boyce as William Short
- Nigel Whitmey as John Trumbull
- Nicolas Silberg as Monsieur Petit
- Catherine Samie as Cook
- Lionel Robert as Cook's Helper
At Lafayette's edit
- Greta Scacchi as Maria Cosway
- Simon Callow as Richard Cosway
- Lambert Wilson as Marquis de Lafayette
- Elsa Zylberstein as Adrienne de Lafayette
- William Moseley as George Washington de Lafayette
- Jean-Pierre Aumont as d'Hancarville
- Anthony Valentine as British Ambassador
At Versailles edit
- Michael Lonsdale as Louis XVI
- Charlotte de Turckheim as Marie-Antoinette
- Damien Groëlle as The Dauphin
- Louise Balsan as Madame Royal
- Valérie Toledano as Madame Elizabeth
- Vernon Dobtcheff as King's Translator
At the Panthémont Abbey edit
- Nancy Marchand as Madame Abbesse
- Jessica Lloyd as Julia
At Doctor Mesmer's edit
At the Opera edit
- William Christie as Conductor
- Jean-Paul Fouchécourt as Dardanus
- Ismail Merchant as Tipoo Sultin's Ambassador
At the Palais Royal edit
Pike County, Ohio edit
- James Earl Jones as Madison Hemings
- Beatrice Winde as Mary Hemings
- Tim Choate as Reporter
