Jefferson in Paris
Merchant Ivory Productions, synonymous with period dramas, often bases screenplays on literary works. With Jefferson in Paris, though, the team ventured into American history using screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s research into the life of the third president (played by Nick Nolte). Focusing on his time in France, four subplots emerge, all based on rival relationships — his nascent friendship with painter Maria Cosway, his growing intimacy with Sally Hemings, his difficulties with daughter Patsy, and his response to events leading to the French Revolution.
(James Ivory, 1995, 35mm, 139 minutes)
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