Anmeldelse | Review
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
3½ ud af 5 pudrede parykker
Som historieinteresseret havde jeg længe luret på denne film, som jeg ikke fik set, da den havde premiere, og af uransagelige årsager er det først nu, jeg har fået fikset dette hul i min opdragelse. Både kritikere og publikum gav i sin tid James Ivorys film en lunken modtagelse, så mine forventninger var skruet pænt ned, og jeg småkedede mig da også den første times tid, der fokuserer på en langtrukken flirt mellem den amerikanske ambassadør (og senere præsident) Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte) og en britisk, gift overklassekvinde (Greta Scacchi). Masser af flotte billeder, kostumer, snak, snak, snak og uforløst kurmageri. Men der kommer liv i kludene, da Den Franske Revolution bryder ud, samtidig med at Jeffersons yngste datter ankommer med sin barnepige, den 15-årige mulat (og slave) Sally Hemings, som senere skulle føde enkemanden Jefferson seks børn. Hun spilles med uimodståelig charme af en purung Thandiwe Newton.
Godt, men lidt for langt historisk farvelademelodrama.
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
3½ out of 5 powdered wigs
As a history buff, I'd been eyeing this movie for a long time, but I didn't get to see it when it premiered, and for some reason it's only now that I've been able to fix this gap in my education. Both critics and audiences gave James Ivory's film a lukewarm reception at the time, so my expectations were pretty low, and yes, I was bored for the first hour or so, which focuses on a lengthy romance between American ambassador (and later president) Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte) and a British married upper-class woman (Greta Scacchi). Lots of pretty visuals, costumes, talk, talk, talk, and unfulfilled courtship. But things come to life when the French Revolution breaks out and Jefferson's youngest daughter arrives with her nanny, 15-year-old mulatto (and slave) Sally Hemings, who would later bear the widower Jefferson six children. She is played with irresistible charm by a young Thandiwe Newton.
A good, but slightly overlong, colored by the numbers period melodrama.
