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The Deal

July/26/08 04:58 PM Filed in: Christian Toto reviews
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"The Deal" from the Weinstein Company, Unrated , $22.95. Michael Sheen's brilliant performance as Tony Blair in "The Queen," which got overshadowed by Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning turn in the title role, wasn't the first time he assumed the Prime Minister's persona.

The Deal on DVD
Sheen played a younger, hungrier Blair in "The Deal," a 2003 British telefilm now being released on DVD. The picture didn't send shockwaves through Hollywood as "The Queen" did, but it's a smart, realistically rendered tale all the same that serves as an appetizer for those who still haven't seen Mirren's film.

It's also a fine primer on British politics.

"The Deal" follows the early careers of two men who would one day rule England. Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) is a wonky Labor Party official doing all he can behind the scenes to restore his party to power.

His new friend Tony Blair (Sheen) is very much cut in Brown's ideological image, but he's far more polished and eager to please. The two bond over common goals and insecurities.

Whatever aspirations they have about rising in their party's ranks will have to wait. They came of age during Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's reign, and even when she leave the political scene the Labor Party remains in the shadows.

But history will eventually nudge open the door for one of these men to enter. An early pledge made between them threatens to shatter their friendship - and change the course of British history. Turns out both men were far more ambitious than they cared to admit. That entrenched denial makes for sober, thought-provoking cinema.

Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and David Morrissey as Gordon Brown in The Deal.
American audiences will expect another shrewd turn from Sheen, but the real revelation here is Morrissey. He played Sharon Stone's "love" interest in the awful as advertised "Basic Instinct 2," but here he tackles the far more challenging role in this character study. Morrissey's grumbling baritone immediately connects with the real-life Brown, but it's in his quieter moments where he truly mirrors the man.

The same writing/directing team behind "The Queen" - director Stephen Frears ("High Fidelity") and screenwriter Peter Morgan - brough this telepicture to life. Some might shy away from a project with small screen roots, but the production is top-notch in every way that matters. A better score, however, would have sweetened the emotional highlights.

The goods: The film incorporates actual news footage into the narrative, and while that could have made the movie look artificial the effect is just the opposite. It reinforces the pseudo-reality on display.

The Mandatory Extras: Not a ton of extra goodies save a lengthy chat with director Stephen Frears and a commentary track featuring Morgan and producer Christine Langan. Frears provides more background into British politics circa the 1990s and, even better, discusses how he attacked the material. It's hardly a shock that he became disillusioned with Blair due the Iraq War, but he did his best to remain neutral with "The Deal." "You just present the facts, and the audience will do the rest," he says, a lesson more U.S. filmmakers might try to follow.

Above and Beyond: "The Deal," loosely based on the novel "The Rivals" by James Naughtie, also comes with text biographies of both Blair and Brown for those who wish to find out more about two fascinating men.


— Christian Toto

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