Jefferson in Paris

Jefferson in Paris

139 mins | Drama, Romance, History | March 31, 1995

His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Paris, he becomes smitten with cultured artist Maria Cosway, but, when his daughter visits from Virginia accompanied by her attractive slave, Sally Hemings, Jefferson's attentions are diverted.

Jefferson in Paris

139 mins | Drama, Romance, History | March 31, 1995

Jefferson in Paris
His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Paris, he becomes smitten with cultured artist Maria Cosway, but, when his daughter visits from Virginia accompanied by her attractive slave, Sally Hemings, Jefferson's attentions are diverted.
IMDb rating 5.7
Producers Merchant Ivory Productions, Touchstone Pictures
Original title Jefferson in Paris
Directors James Ivory
Writers Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Cast

Nick Nolte

as Thomas Jefferson

Greta Scacchi

as Maria Cosway

Thandiwe Newton

as Sally Hemings

Gwyneth Paltrow

as Patsy Jefferson

Jean-Pierre Aumont

as D'Hancarville

Simon Callow

as Richard Cosway

Seth Gilliam

as James Hemings

James Earl Jones

as Madison Hemings

Michael Lonsdale

as Louis XVI

Nancy Marchand

as Madame Abbesse

Charlotte de Turckheim

as Marie Antoinette

Lambert Wilson

as Marquis de Lafayette

Vincent Cassel

as Camille Desmoulins

Steve Kalfa

as Dr. Guillotin

Jessica Lloyd

as Julia

Todd Boyce

as William Short

Nigel Whitmey

as John Trumbull

Nicolas Silberg

as Monsieur Petit

Elsa Zylberstein

as Adrienne de Lafayette

William Moseley

as George Washington de Lafayette

Vernon Dobtcheff

as King's Translator

Daniel Mesguich

as Mesmer

Beatrice Winde

as Mary Hemings

Tim Choate

as Reporter