The Deal

They were called "the future" within the UK's Labour Party. For twelve years, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair had risen through the ranks with the goal of modernizing a party that was a shadow of a former self. In 1994, their friendship turned into rivalry when the chance to lead the party presented itself to them. The Deal is the film version of that story: their friendship during their rise through party ranks, the rivalry that ensued and the dinner that decided their respective fates.

The Deal is headed by two fine actors playing two very real figures. Michael Sheen shines in the first of, to date, three performances as Tony Blair. Over the course of the film, Sheen plays Blair from first time MP to the man who holds the "big job" in his grasp and, as a result, his performance has an intriguing arch through it. Then there is David Morrissey as Gordon Brown, the man with "Labour leader" written all over him. Morrissey's performance has very much the same arch as Sheen's though towards the end, as paths diverge, Morrissey's performance becomes more moody if not downbeat. There respective performances are wonderfully contrasted in scenes such as their walks through London streets, their argument after Brown realizes that Blair intends to run for the leadership and the dinner where the film's title takes place. Together these two performances carry the film on its journey across over a decade of British political history as they meet first as office mates to friends and then rivals for power.

There is a fine supporting cast as well. Leading the supporting cast are Frank Kelly as Blair and Brown's mentor and Labour leader John Smith and Paul Rhys as Peter Mandelson who ultimately becomes something of a king-maker when the two become rivals for leadership. Important players in the drama include Elizabeth Berrington as Cherie Blair and Dexter Fletcher as Brown's aide Charlie Whelan. The supporting cast gives Sheen and Morrissery fine actors to bounce off of and make their performances better while being given a chance to shine themselves.

The film's production values are good, considering the film's low budget. The film was mostly shot on location which gives the film a strong sense of reality to it. This sense of reality is strongly heightened by the cinematography of Alwin Küchler, especially in the scenes set inside the halls of power at the film's climatic dinner scene. The film also makes fine use of its low budget by using a wealth of archive footage that showcases the events that shaped the rise of the films two protagonists that not only informs the viewer but gives the entire film a larger sense of scope. Last but not least is the score from composer Nathan Larson that, while sparsely used, makes a huge impact nonetheless. These various elements in front of and behind the camera, under the splendid direction of Stephen Frears. Frears direction and attention to the drama gives the viewer the feeling of watching history taking place in front of them. There are only a few instances where this sense of reality is broken such as if the viewer pays attention to the anachronistic cars during the sequences where Blair and Brown walk through London streets though I suspect most viewers might not even notice them. Overall though Frears direction, and the production values as a whole, work and work splendidly.

Last but not least is Peter Morgan's fine script. Real life dramas can often be dull but Morgan takes what could be a boring story of recent politics into a fascinating drama about two rising politicians. At its heart is not the politics of the two men but their friendship. It is a friendship built in a cramped office with a shared goal of modernizing the Labour Party. Their friendship is tested as personal ambitions and weaknesses turn into a rivalry that could either make them or destroy them forever. It all comes down to a simple dinner scene that is, despite us knowing its outcome, a fascinating few minutes where Morgan brings the journey to its climax. Along the way Morgan gives the actors fine dialogue that add a human dimension to this rise to power. The result is a fine script that illuminates two leaders and their rise to power.

The Deal then is an illumination of recent history. From the performances of Michael Sheen and David Morrissey as Blair and Brown, respectively, to the supporting cast and the production under the direction of Stephen Frears to Peter Morgan's script the film is a fascinating journey. It is the journey of Blair and Brown: their friendship during their rise through party ranks, the rivalry that ensued and the dinner that decided their respective fates.

Stephen Frears has done some excellent movies documenting recent British social and political history. In this particular movie, he gives us the background to Tony Blair's ascendancy to the leadership of the British Labour Party. After getting a seat in Parliament in 1983, Tony Blair, performed by Michael Sheen, was very much a junior to the formidable Scot named Gordon Brown, a longtime member of the party, played by David Morrissey. We see Blair looking for office space after his election and sharing a room with Brown as the two become friends during the Thatcher era. Brown is an intellectual with a thick Scottish accent and brooding manner. He does his homework and gives a rousing first speech. Tony Blair takes himself and his work much less seriously and seems very much a lightweight but his easy manner and likability pay dividends down the road. I enjoyed David Morrissey in the Gordon Brown role and got an appreciation for the difficult spot he found himself in when he eventually succeeded Blair as leader in 2007. Michael Sheen is a competent actor, playing Blair in The Queen and The Special Relationship and also David Frost when he faced Richard Nixon in a series of interviews. The movie is also interwoven with actual film clips from the era of Thatcher, and Labour Leaders Neil Kinnock and Michael Foote. We see how Brown, for all his apparent ambition, seems to hold back when opportunity knocks while the less goal driven Tony Blair eventually sails toward the leadership by force of personality and good luck. This movie was made before Tony Blair stepped down as prime minister and we know Gordon Brown was defeated in 2010 without ever winning an election on his own. Life can be unfair but Tony Blair did in his final years, face difficult times and left office discredited by the war in Iraq. His personal popularity has never recovered. Two great politicians are contrasted here and the movie sheds great light on their personal friendship and rivalry.

In some ways, the story of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair is profoundly uninteresting. Two men with a similar political philosophy consider challenging for the leadership of the party, eventually decide not to compete with one another but subsequently (in events not covered by this film) fall out. Of course, there are many "what ifs", but politics is full of these. The absence of a philosophical clash, or a deep personal emnity, makes their deal in some senses trivial - one guy stood aside for the other, so what? If any other job than that of potential Prime Minister had been at stake, would anyone care? Because of that job, their decision clearly had some significance. But politicians make deals all the time with one another - and had we not a media obsessed with political minutiae, that history might well have been forgotten. According to the briefings, it certainly hasn't been forgotten by Brown - but that doesn't necessarily make it important.

Stephen Frears' film tries hard to reconstruct these events, but it fails to really gain life, telling us what we know already without really adding anything new. David Morrissey, as Brown, is less convincing than when given free rein to play a fictional politician as he did recently in 'State of Play'; Michael Sheen, as Blair, is always just a little bit more callow and hollow than the real thing. The story suggests there was little real friendship between the two, which reduces the tale to a series of empty manoeverings. And while it's fun to see representations of various political characters, we get too little sense of their whole lives. There are a few nice touches (Blair's instinctive family values, Brown's genuine grief at John Smith's death) but 'The Deal' still feels like a compilation of yesterday's newspapers. History will certainly remember both men, but their deal will surely rate only a footnote. For good or ill, Blair stood and won - and that's all we really need to know.

It is approaching an election in the UK when the leader of the Labour party, John Smith, suffers another in a line of heart attacks and dies. With the leadership campaign about to start the clear choice appears to be Gordon Brown, a stanch Scotsman. However Tony Blair is also beginning to appear more likely as he will appeal to Southern voters who would be turned off by Brown. Blair rings Brown to arrange a meeting to discuss which will go for the job. The film flashbacks to the start of their relationship, sharing an office in Westminster on their first seats.

I have recently seen a BBC political drama (The Project) which was focused around the rise (and perversion) of Labour - it lasted 4 hours and was unlikely to win over anyone who wasn't already suitably informed about the topic. The Deal, on the other hand, is 90 minutes long and is a punchy little summary of the supposed deal brokered between Blair and Brown to prevent them having to battle for the party leadership in the wake of John Smith's death. This is worthwhile as it is likely to attract those not actually into politics but just looking for a reasonable drama to pass the time.

As such it moves along quite well. It covers lot of ground quite quickly and will give those lacking the knowledge (like me) a good understanding of the political landscape of the time. It also has a certain amount of drama - some of which is real and some of which is provided by characters and sinister direction. The one flaw I did feel it had was that it was a drama and not a documentary, to that end dialogue has been created and scenes are the combination of sources and records. This is still good but it has the effect that we can't take everything at face value - I would have preferred if more sources were clearly defined and the facts more clearly established. The fact that the whole film is a drama means that I couldn't be sure how much of the film (or how little) was actually artistic license.

The cast are good. The better role is Morrissey as Brown. He manages to get his mannerisms right without letting it turn into a impression, he plays him as a dour character (which Brown pleaded innocence of the next day on the BBC, despite claiming not to have seen the film) which is the image many have of him, but he does bring him to life well. Sheen's Blair is also good but is more of a mimic than a real character - it hard to describe but it felt like he had spent more time focusing on the mannerisms than the character , although, that said, he did bring another layer out at some points (witness his face change as Brown leaves the restaurant at the end). Rhys' Mandelson is too much of an effort to be sinister and didn't work for me - the Mandelson that we have seen is more lively and overt than this, he does have his sinister side but the fact that it is in this colourful shell makes it more interesting, that wasn't brought out. The support cast is good but this is a two-hander and the two characters carry it well - even if the restaurant scene is not exactly the equal of Heat!

Overall this works well as a political drama which will reach those not normally reached by this type of material. However the fact that the facts were mixed with dramatised and fictional scenes was a problem for me and I wasn't totally sure what bits were real and what bits were interpreted. Still an enjoyable film nonetheless.

'The Deal' is a pretty good television movie, one that details British politics involving Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in the 80s and 90s. The best feature of it is the performances of David Morrissey (Brown) and Michael Sheen (Blair), both of whom are certainly excellent.

It does come across as a bit too chummy and re-enactment-y at times, as in some scenes are clearly the work of hearsay and rumour (albeit likely true). I don't necessarily mean that as a criticism, though. Overall, it is a well written film, I definitely enjoyed watching the thing; it's short as well.

Directed by Stephen Frears.