Movie and TV Presidents: Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is considered to be an American Founding Father. He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States, holding the office for two terms from 1801 to 1809. At the beginning of the American Revolution, he served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia and then served as a wartime Governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781. Just after the war ended, from 1784 Jefferson served as a diplomat, stationed in Paris. In May 1785, he became the United States Minister to France. Jefferson was the first United States Secretary of State holding the office from 1790 to 1793, serving under George Washington. With his close friend James Madison he organized the Democratic-Republican Party, and subsequently resigned from Washington's cabinet. Elected Vice President in 1796, Jefferson opposed his former friend John Adams and with Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which attempted to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Jefferson is believed to have had a long-term relationship with a woman named Sarah Hemings. She was an enslaved woman of mixed race who was "owned" by President Thomas Jefferson. It is believed that she gave birth to six children fathered by Jefferson, four of whom survived. Hemings was the youngest of six siblings. Her father was a white Virginia planter named John Wayles and her mother was his mixed-race slave Betty Hemings. Wayles was also Jefferson's father-in-law, making Jefferson's wife Martha the half-sister of Sally. In 1787, 14 year old Sally Hemings accompanied Jefferson's youngest daughter Mary (who was called Polly) to London and then to Paris. Jefferson was 44 years old at the time and was serving as the United States Minister (Ambassador) to France. Hemings spent two years there. It is believed that Jefferson began a sexual relationship with Hemings either in France or soon after their return to Monticello. Hemings had six children of record born into slavery; four survived to adulthood. During the time that these children were born, Hemings worked as a domestic servant in Jefferson's house, an assignment she held until his death. Hemings' children lived in Jefferson's house and were trained as domestic servants and artisans. Their names were Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston.
Sally Hemings remained in France for with Jefferson for 26 months. Slavery was abolished there after the Revolution in 1789 so Jefferson paid her and her brother James a wage, though it was lower than the usual rate for servants. Under French law, both Sally and James could have petitioned for their freedom and asked to remain in France as free persons rather than returning to Virginia as slaves. According to her son Madison's memoir, Hemings became pregnant in Paris and Jefferson was the father of the child. She agreed to return with him to the United States in return for his promise to free their children when they reached the age of 21.
In 1995 a movie about Jefferson's time in France with Hemings, entitled Jefferson in Paris, was released in theatres. It starred Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson, Gwyneth Paltrow as Patsy Jefferson and Thandie Newton as Sally Hemings. It is 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. The film was shot on location in Paris and Versailles.
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."
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."
The film did poorly at the box office. The film was budgeted at $14 million. It grossed $2,473,668 in the US.
Following is a trailer for the movie:
Jefferson is believed to have had a long-term relationship with a woman named Sarah Hemings. She was an enslaved woman of mixed race who was "owned" by President Thomas Jefferson. It is believed that she gave birth to six children fathered by Jefferson, four of whom survived. Hemings was the youngest of six siblings. Her father was a white Virginia planter named John Wayles and her mother was his mixed-race slave Betty Hemings. Wayles was also Jefferson's father-in-law, making Jefferson's wife Martha the half-sister of Sally. In 1787, 14 year old Sally Hemings accompanied Jefferson's youngest daughter Mary (who was called Polly) to London and then to Paris. Jefferson was 44 years old at the time and was serving as the United States Minister (Ambassador) to France. Hemings spent two years there. It is believed that Jefferson began a sexual relationship with Hemings either in France or soon after their return to Monticello. Hemings had six children of record born into slavery; four survived to adulthood. During the time that these children were born, Hemings worked as a domestic servant in Jefferson's house, an assignment she held until his death. Hemings' children lived in Jefferson's house and were trained as domestic servants and artisans. Their names were Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston.
Sally Hemings remained in France for with Jefferson for 26 months. Slavery was abolished there after the Revolution in 1789 so Jefferson paid her and her brother James a wage, though it was lower than the usual rate for servants. Under French law, both Sally and James could have petitioned for their freedom and asked to remain in France as free persons rather than returning to Virginia as slaves. According to her son Madison's memoir, Hemings became pregnant in Paris and Jefferson was the father of the child. She agreed to return with him to the United States in return for his promise to free their children when they reached the age of 21.
In 1995 a movie about Jefferson's time in France with Hemings, entitled Jefferson in Paris, was released in theatres. It starred Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson, Gwyneth Paltrow as Patsy Jefferson and Thandie Newton as Sally Hemings. It is 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. The film was shot on location in Paris and Versailles.
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."
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."
The film did poorly at the box office. The film was budgeted at $14 million. It grossed $2,473,668 in the US.
Following is a trailer for the movie: