The Deal (2003 film)
The Deal | |
---|---|
Based on | Blair–Brown deal The Rivals by James Naughtie |
Written by | Peter Morgan |
Directed by | Stephen Frears |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Nathan Larson |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Production | |
Producer | Christine Langan |
Cinematography | Alwin H. Küchler |
Editor | Lucia Zucchetti |
Running time | 76 mins. |
Production company | Granada Television |
Budget | $3 million[1] |
Original release | |
Network | Channel 4 |
Release | 28 September 2003 |
The Deal is a 2003 British
The film stars
The film was critically acclaimed. Morrissey received considerable praise, winning a
Plot
In the prologue, opening in medias res, shows Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) taking a telephone call from Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) to arrange a meeting at the Granita restaurant in Islington.
The narrative shifts to 1983; in the wake of the Falklands War, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government enjoy huge public popularity as the general election approaches, while Labour's left-wing election manifesto loses them key voters. Whilst the Conservatives win a landslide victory, building upon their existing majority, Brown is elected as the new Member of Parliament for Dunfermline East in Scotland. In London, he is shown to his office in the Houses of Parliament. John Smith (Frank Kelly), a senior Labour MP, introduces Brown to Blair, his new office-mate and the new MP for Sedgefield. Blair makes pleasantries with Brown and, though Brown is not initially impressed, the two become friends. Smith soon introduces the pair to Peter Mandelson (Paul Rhys), Neil Kinnock's director of communications. Shortly afterwards, Kinnock appoints Blair to be an assistant Treasury spokesman. Brown turns down a promotion to the Scottish Office, hoping a better position will come along. He and Blair discuss their political futures and both agree that, of the two, Brown would make a better leader of the party.
Labour is unable to make significant dents in the Conservative majority at the 1987 general election, with the Tories dropping by only 0.2% in the national share of the vote compared to 1983. Kinnock promotes Smith to Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, with Brown as his "number two". Three years later, Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister, having been toppled from within the Conservative Party, and Brown asserts his view that a Labour victory in the next election will be possible. Despite contrary predictions, the Conservatives led by John Major win the 1992 general election and secure the most votes ever recorded for a political party in British history. Blair tells Brown that a new approach is needed, and that Brown should stand for the party leadership. Brown refuses to stand against Smith, his friend and mentor. Mandelson privately suggests to Brown that Blair should stand as leader but Brown ridicules the idea. Smith is elected and, over the next two years, Labour gains support as scandals rock the government – but both Blair and Brown are concerned that Smith's "one more heave" strategy of allowing Conservative unpopularity to hand the next election victory to Labour is not radical enough. Blair, as Shadow Home Secretary, pledges to be "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" in the wake of the murder of James Bulger. During a late-night conversation about the future direction of the party, Smith tells a clearly irritated Brown that he sees Blair as his natural successor.
A year later, Smith suffers a fatal heart attack. Blair, encouraged by his wife Cherie (Elizabeth Berrington), decides to stand in the leadership contest. He later meets with Mandelson to tell him that he has received support from key Labour frontbenchers. Previously a supporter of Brown, Mandelson switches his allegiance to Blair. Brown is furious that Blair has gone back on what he perceives as having been an unwritten understanding between the two that Brown was the stronger candidate for the leadership, but Blair is incredulous – believing that the circumstances have changed enormously in the intervening years. Smith's funeral passes, and Blair's camp is sure that Brown will run. Charlie Whelan (Dexter Fletcher) and Ed Balls (Matt Blair) advise Brown that he will receive support from significant trade unions. Blair decides to arrange a meeting with Brown. At Granita, Blair tells Brown that he will run for the leadership, and in return offers Brown unprecedented power as his Chancellor should they win the next election, also offering Brown sweeping control of social policy. Brown asks what Blair's plan is should Labour win a second term in office, and Blair responds that he would not make the same mistake as Margaret Thatcher and "go on too long," agreeing to offer his support to Brown as his successor. Brown agrees and Mandelson prepares a statement from him, but discards Brown's alterations. The leadership contest is won by Blair.
Production
Writing
The film was commissioned in 2002 by ITV's head of drama Nick Elliott, who encouraged
"With most English dramas about politics, you expect either satire or a story with a very strong agenda. What you get here is an emotional piece. This story would interest me every bit as much if it was about two people going for a promotion to be the foreman in a baked bean factory—and one got the job while the other didn't but should have done."
Peter Morgan.[4]
The relationship between Brown and Blair as depicted in the script was based on that between Aaron Altman and Tom Grunick, the characters portrayed by Albert Brooks and William Hurt in Broadcast News. Morgan wanted to set the entire film in the 12 days following the death of John Smith, but the time frame was widened because the Labour Party's disastrous result at the 1992 general election was "absolutely crucial" to the relationship and motives of the main characters; Morgan had to show the moment Blair decided to aim to become leader of the party.[4] Morgan and the producers engaged in a lengthy research process during script writing and editing, interviewing 40 to 50 of Brown and Blair's closest friends and advisors, as well as aides involved in the 1992 and 1997 elections. Significantly, many of the facts in the film are based on the first three chapters of James Naughtie's book The Rivals: The Intimate Portrait of a Political Marriage.[7] The film briefly adopted The Rivals as a working title, but soon reverted to The Deal. Another title considered by Frears was Bambi and Stalin, based on a line in a speech given by Blair in 1995.[7]
Scenes set in the House of Commons chamber and committee rooms use the actual words as recorded in
Casting
At the time of commissioning, Douglas Henshall and Daniel Craig were considered for the parts of Brown and Blair respectively, though David Morrissey and Michael Sheen were eventually announced as the leads in March 2003.[2] Morrissey gained two stone for his role and had his hair permed and dyed. He researched Brown's background by travelling to Kirkcaldy—where Brown grew up—and reviewing numerous biographies and information about the Treasury.[9] In comparison to his preparation for the BBC thriller State of Play, Morrissey discovered that no politicians wanted to help him with his research, so he turned to journalists Jon Snow and Simon Hoggart.[10] Director Stephen Frears was unfamiliar with his previous work and had to be convinced by other production staff to cast him.[11]
Sheen worked with an accent coach to effectively mimic Blair's speech style, although he and Morrissey avoided doing simple impersonations of the men they played.[9] Sheen cited Will Smith's title performance of Ali as a basis for his part; despite playing a real-life figure, he treated the role as if it were any other character.[12] Sheen had made his film debut in Frears' Mary Reilly (1996), and although he was unsure whether his minor role had "burned into [Frears'] brain", Frears confirmed that he had remembered Sheen from that.[11][13] Frears' casting director approached Sheen in the audience of a play, inviting him to appear in "a love story about Tony Blair and Gordon Brown". An informal meeting was scheduled between Frears and Sheen, at the end of which Sheen was cast as Blair.[13]
Filming
In March 2003, shortly before filming began, ITV abandoned its plan to screen the film, citing fears that such a politically sensitive film could affect the Granada-Carlton corporate merger, which was due to go before the government's Competition Commission.[3][5] Within 24 hours, Channel 4 backed the production.[4] A £2 million budget was assigned to the film.[5] Filming was postponed until May to accommodate Sheen's rehearsal schedule for the play Caligula. Frears ended shooting at 6 p.m. each day, so Sheen could leave the set-in time to appear in the play at the Donmar Warehouse.[11][14] The shoot was scheduled for five weeks. Set design was carried out by Michael Pickwood, a longtime production designer for Granada.
The Blairs' house in Sedgefield, Myrobella, was "played" by a house formerly owned by Lord Hailsham, Kettlethorpe Hall in Lincolnshire. The Maughan Library was used as the Houses of Parliament, along with the real-life scene in London. The scene in which John Smith eats with Brown was filmed on Blackfriars Bridge on the River Thames. The prologue and climactic scene in the Granita restaurant were shot on location in the restaurant itself.[14]
Certain personal effects of the characters that were familiar to the public were added to the sets.[14] Frears subdued Berrington's performance to avoid portraying Cherie as too much of a Lady Macbeth figure; in the scene where Cherie encourages Blair to stand for the leadership, Frears had Berrington stand with her back towards the camera.[15] Editing and post-production went on until September. Some historical events—such as the Sheffield Rally and footage of the 1997 general election—were too costly to refilm so archive footage was used instead.[7] Adam Curtis assisted in the editing of the archive footage.[7]
Release
After John Yorke recommissioned the film for Channel 4, it was scheduled as part of a "Tony Blair season". The Deal aired on 28 September 2003, the day before the Labour Party Conference began in Bournemouth. Despite heavy media attention, the broadcast was seen by only 1.5 million viewers.[16]
The film received a screening at the
The ending of the film was changed for the American release; a closing caption that had read "Gordon is still waiting [for the leadership]" was replaced by one that says that Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, thirteen years after the Granita meeting. Despite these changes, the copyright date on the film remains 2003. HBO promoted it as "a new movie... from the makers of The Queen"[21] and the DVD was marketed as "The Prequel to The Queen", even though the film was made and originally released before The Queen.
Reception
Reviews of the film following a press screening were generally positive. The Guardian published a number of reviews by politicians and political aides; Charlie Whelan called it "enjoyable, if not entirely accurate", complaining that he was portrayed unsympathetically in comparison to Peter Mandelson—"the Prince of Darkness". Whelan was highly complimentary of Morrissey's performance, but criticised Morgan's script for portraying Brown as he was publicly perceived.[22] Michael Portillo, the Secretary of State for Defence during the time that Blair was Leader of the Opposition, wrote a positive account of the film, using his review as a platform to recall the events surrounding the 1992 general election. Tim Allan, Blair's deputy press secretary for four years, called it "cracking stuff", highlighting the leads' performances and the fact-based nature of the script.[23]
Mark Davies, the political reporter for BBC News Online, criticised the script's bias towards Brown and Sheen's apparently negative performance; "Michael Sheen at first plays Blair in the style of Spitting Image's David Steel puppet: bounding along next to his far superior colleague like an over-eager puppy. The actor later transforms Blair into something more sinister and cynical […] Think Rik Mayall's Alan B'stard." As with other critics, Davies admired Morrissey's performance, singling out the actor's grasp of Brown's physical tics.[24] For the Daily Express, James Rampton singled out the balance of drama and humour.[8] Upon broadcast in the United States—and in retrospect of The Queen—The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert called it "tightly written and effectively acted, and yet it still plays more like a docudramatic re-creation than a Shakespearean glimpse at brotherly tension." Of Morrissey, Gilbert wrote "He brings depth to Brown, a Scot, as a moody, private workaholic whose passion is in ideas and not in performing to the public."[25]
The drama won the
Follow-ups
The Queen (2006)
Frears had a clause in his contract that allowed him to direct any sequels.
The Special Relationship (2010)
A second follow-up was written by Morgan,
Possible Brown film
In a radio interview with Kate Silverton in August 2010, Andy Harries spoke of early plans for a television film about "the Brown exit", though explained that such a film was "two or three years away".[38]
See also
References
- ^ Peter Morgan, Christine Langan (2008). Audio commentary for "The Deal" [DVD]. Genius Products.
- ^ a b c d Brooks, Richard (13 October 2002). "Blair and Brown to be TV double act". The Sunday Times (Times Newspapers): p. 5.
- ^ a b Wells, Matt (2 April 2003). "ITV ditches Blair-Brown drama Archived 29 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine". MediaGuardian (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Gritten, David (20 September 2003). "The power, the glory—and the heartbreak". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group).
- ^ a b c Walker, Tim (30 March 2003). "Rivals no longer". The Sunday Times (Times Newspapers): p. 40.
- ^ "Interview with writer Peter Morgan". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2003. Retrieved on 19 November 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Adams, Tim (14 September 2003). "I want what he's having Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine". The Observer (Guardian News and Media): p. 1 (Observer Review supplement).
- ^ a b Rampton, James (28 September 2003). "The Deal undone". Daily Express (Express Newspapers): p. 55.
- ^ a b Naughtie, James (6 September 2003). "The real deal". The Times (Times Newspapers): p. 48.
- ^ Hoggard, Liz (20 March 2004). "David Morrissey: The unlikely lad". The Independent (Independent News & Media).
- ^ a b c "Interview with Stephen Frears". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved on 19 November 2009.
- ^ Wolf, Matt (13 April 2003). "He's got the power". The Sunday Times (Times Newspapers): p. 14. "Will was doing a very accurate version of Ali, but it never got in the way of a real character just doing the scene, and I thought that was great. That's what I aspire to, I suppose—something that isn't just an impersonation."
- ^ a b Douglas, Edward (20 October 2006). "Exclusive: Michael Sheen of The Queen Archived 12 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d McKay, Alastair (17 September 2003). The Scotsman (The Scotsman Publications).
- ^ Frears, Stephen. Interview with Mark Lawson. Front Row Archived 15 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Radio 4. 18 September 2003.
- ^ Reevell, Philip (17 October 2003). "Dirty Den leads audience to Monarch of the Glen". Broadcast (Emap Media): p. 35.
- ^ Multiple contributors (2007). "News/Scoop du jour: Saturday, 5 May Archived 4 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine". San Francisco Film Festival. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ Schreiber, Dominic (24 October 2007). "HBO makes 'Deal' for Tony Blair film Archived 29 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine". Variety (Reed Business Information).
- ^ "The Deal Archived 24 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine". British Video Association. Retrieved on 2 May 2010.
- ^ Ball, Chris. "DVD Extras: A young Javier Bardem goes wild in 'Extasis,' plus reviews of 'Joe Louis: America's Hero … Betrayed,' & more". Cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland. Retrieved on 28 July 2008.
- ^ The Deal TV Poster – Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery Archived 25 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Whelan, Charlie (24 September 2003). "The Deal's off Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine". MediaGuardian (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ Portillo, Michael; Tim Allan (25 September 2003). "Pact or fiction? Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine". The Guardian (Guardian News and Media): p. 6 (G2 supplement).
- ^ Davies, Mark (29 September 2003). "The Deal proves unfair to Blair Archived 15 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine". BBC News Online. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew (8 November 2007). "Behind the scenes with Blair again Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine". The Boston Globe (The New York Times Company).
- ^ "British Academy Television Awards 2003 Archived 12 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved on 1 November 2008.
- ^ a b "RTS Programme Awards 2003 Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine". Royal Television Society. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ Staff (23 November 2004). "UK sweep up at global Emmy Awards Archived 8 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine". BBC News Online. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Directors Guild of Britain Awards Archived 2 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine". britfilms.com. Retrieved on 1 November 2008.
- ^ Wells, Matt (30 August 2004). "Helen Mirren poised for royal role Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine". Guardian Unlimited (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ a b Thompson, Anne (15 December 2008). "Peter Morgan retackles Tony Blair Archived 14 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine". Variety (Reed Business Informatio).
- ^ Dawtrey, Adam (1 October 2007). "Morgan prepares 'Queen' sequel Archived 29 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine". Variety (Reed Business Information).
- ^ Dowell, Ben (2 October 2007). "BBC Films to be restructured Archived 22 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on 16 December 2008.
- ^ Shoard, Catherine (25 March 2009). "Peter Morgan returns to Tony Blair for The Special Relationship Archived 27 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (8 July 2009). "Hope Davis to play Hillary Clinton[dead link]". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (23 June 2009). "Peter Morgan leaves 'Relationship'". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
- ^ Staff (17 August 2009). "Production: The Special Relationship Archived 20 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine". ScreenDaily.com (Emap Media). Retrieved on 30 August 2009.
- ^ Harries, Andy. Radio interview with Kate Silverton. Kate Silverton. BBC Radio 5 live. 29 August 2010.
Further reading
- Colwill, Richard (29 September 2003). "The Deal: review of newspaper reviews". Times Online (Times Newspapers).
External links
- The Deal at Channel4.com
- The Deal on 4oD(available within the United Kingdom only)
- The Deal on
- The Deal at the BFI's Screenonline
- The Deal at IMDb
- The Deal at Rotten Tomatoes