Thomas Jefferson is one of our most fascinating presidents, so it's no wonder Hollywood keeps making movies about him. In this one, we get to see his relationships with the women in his life. It's always very interesting to find out a revered and powerful man has a weakness. Nick Nolte portrays a pre-president Jefferson, and after he's widowed, he goes to Paris to become the US minister. This is during the time of Marie Antoinette so be prepared to see some beautiful costumes and set designs. While he's there (remember the title) he meets Greta Scacchi and forms an attachment. The problem comes in the form of his daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow, who doesn't want her father to remarry.

Where's the romance you've been waiting to see, between Jefferson and Sally Hemings? Don't worry; it's there. Thandie Newton plays the next beauty in his life, and as we all know, there are obstacles to their happy-ever-after as well. If you find Jefferson an interesting subject, you'll like this intimate portrait that shows him as an imperfect man. You'll also see Simon Callow, James Earl Jones, and Nancy Marchand in the supporting cast.

A well researched period piece from the Merchant-Ivory team, the depicted setting and era come alive with the apt costumes and sets. The film however tells little in the way of a story, and the methods of narration are awfully clumsy. The whole Jefferson story is supposedly narrated by one person, however that story in itself is narrated by the Jefferson character and others through different letters. It is a bit confusing, and does not gel well together. Even if it is hard to explain, it should be easy to pick up on this awkwardness when watching the film. Some of the sequences also feel like they are just for show, for they add very little to the story. However, even if this is a flawed film, it has enough good qualities to rate above average. The film is set to wonderful Richard Robbins music and Thandie Newton really makes the most of her role. There is quite a bit that one can enjoy in this film, even if it is hardly perfect viewing.

It was said by one of Thomas Jefferson's successors that when he (John F. Kennedy) gathered a distinguished group from the arts and sciences for a White House dinner, Kennedy was wont to remark that this was the most eclectic and brilliant group of people ever gathered at the White House except when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. A tribute indeed to the versatility and genius of our 3rd president who more than dabbled in so many fields.

Philosopher, inventor, politician, farmer, musician, and chronicler of events this film focuses on Jefferson as father and lover and slavemaster. Whatever else he was Thomas Jefferson was a product of his times and culture in the colonial plantation culture of tidewater Virginia.

Nick Nolte who did a lot of action/adventure films cuts a nice figure as Jefferson. Certainly better than the originally intended Jack Nicholson would have been. No reflection on Jack, but can you see all those imitators reciting the Declaration of Independence in that Nicholson voice?

When Jefferson became our Minister to France under the Articles of Confederation he brought his eldest surviving daughter Patsy played by Gwyneth Paltrow. He was a widower at the time, formerly married to Martha Wayles Skelton who died in 1781.

During that time Jefferson had a rather open affair with artist Maria Cosway who was married to a regency rake type Richard Cosway. As Cosway played by Simon Callow was a serial cheater, Maria didn't let grass grow under her feet either. The times were pretty bawdy in Paris during those last years of Louis XVI. A seductive Cosway is played by Greta Sacchi.

Later on Jefferson is joined by his younger daughter Polly and she gets accompanied by slave Sally Hemmings who was maybe 15 at the time she first came over. Hemmings was actually a biological half sister of his late wife,, she was fathered by the father of the late Mrs. Jefferson. As played by Thandie Newton, Sally is one sly little minx.

Over earlier with Jefferson was her brother who was brought over to Paris to learn the art of French cooking. The dialog between Seth Gilliam as the brother and Thandie Newton about how slaves survive in a white man's world is quite insightful. In fact Gilliam demands and gets wages from Jefferson while in Paris.

Paris and continental France may not have had slaves, but I daresay Gilliam might have changed certain attitudes as he was not possibly aware of what the French were doing in the West Indies, especially Haiti. That pot would boil over in the beginning of the upcoming century.

What I liked best was the recreation of decadent Paris of the 1780s before the Revolution. The producing directing team of Merchant-Ivory did a superb job recreating the period with Nick Nolte narrating some of the correspondence of Jefferson as commentary. Other foreign observers had a much different take on these events. Just read A Tale Of Two Cities for an alternative view of events.

Jefferson In Paris is a superb production and highly recommended to those who want to learn about Thomas Jefferson and a slice of the time he lived in.