The Deal (2003 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Deal
The Deal poster for HBO premiere
Genre	Political drama
Running time	76 min.
Written by	Peter Morgan
Directed by	Stephen Frears
Produced by	Christine Langan
Starring	David Morrissey Michael Sheen Frank Kelly Paul Rhys
Music by	Nathan Larson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language	English
Original channel	Channel 4
Release date(s)	28 September 2003
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Deal is a 2003 television play directed by Stephen Frears and written by Peter Morgan, based in part upon The Rivals by James Naughtie. It stars David Morrissey as Gordon Brown and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, and depicts the famed political legend that the two made a pact that Brown would not stand in the 1994 Labour leadership election so Blair could have a clear run at becoming leader of the party and eventually Prime Minister. The film begins in 1983, as the two men are first elected to Parliament, and concludes in 1994 at the Granita restaurant—the location of the supposed agreement—with a brief epilogue following the 1997 general election. It also stars Frank Kelly, Paul Rhys, Matt Blair, Dexter Fletcher and Elizabeth Berrington.

The drama was first proposed by Morgan in late 2002 and was taken on by Granada Television for ITV. After Frears agreed to direct, and the cast were signed on, ITV pulled out of it over fears that the political sensitivity could affect its corporate merger. Channel 4 agreed to show it, and post-production was carried out over the summer of 2003, ahead of its broadcast on 28 September 2003, prior to the Labour Party's annual party conference.

The film was critically lauded. Morrissey received unanimous praise, winning a Royal Television Society award. Sheen reunited with Morgan, Frears and the producer Christine Langan to play Blair again in the 2006 film The Queen. Morgan is scheduled to write a second follow-up to The Deal, focusing on the 'special relationship' between Blair and U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 Reception 6 Follow-ups 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

New young Labour MPs Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are thrown together when they are forced to share an office. Despite the contrast in their personalities, they become firm friends. After the resignation of Neil Kinnock following the defeat of the 1992 General Election, Blair, with the support of Peter Mandelson, encourages Brown to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party. Brown refuses to stand against fellow Scottish MP and mentor John Smith, and this leads to a shift in allegiance by Mandelson from Brown to Blair. When Smith dies suddenly two years later, Mandelson engineers a meeting between the pair to fix the leadership election. An informal agreement is reached that, if Brown supports Blair's candidacy, Blair will later stand down in favour of Brown, but the two men fall out when Blair appears to be going back on his word.

[edit] Cast

• David Morrissey as Gordon Brown, a Scottish Labour MP who seeks to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party, only to stand aside for a competitor. 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.^[1] 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.^[2] Stephen Frears was unfamiliar with his previous work and had to be convinced by other production staff to cast him.^[3]

• Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, an English Labour MP who wants the Labour Party to reform, and promises Brown unprecedented power as his Chancellor of the Exchequer if he agrees to stand down from the leadership contest. Sheen worked with an accent coach to effectively mimic Blair's speech style, though both he and Morrissey avoiding doing simple impersonations of the men they played.^[1] Sheen cited Will Smith's performance as Muhammad Ali in Ali as a basis for his part; despite playing a real-life figure, he treated the role as if it were any other character.^[4] Sheen had made his first film appearance in Frears' 1996 film Mary Reilly. Though Sheen was unsure whether his minor role had "burned into [Frears'] brain", Frears confirmed that he had remembered from that.^[5][3] 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.^[5]

At the time of commissioning, Douglas Henshall and Daniel Craig were considered for the parts of Brown and Blair respectively, though Morrissey and Sheen were eventually announced as the leads in March 2003.^[6] The relationship between Brown and Blair received many thematic analogies. Peter Morgan likened Brown's story to a "tragedy of an over-qualified Scot, who the Labour Party probably rightly felt at the time that it could not have as its leader."^[6] Despite the quote at the head of the film referring to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Frears wryly likened Brown and Blair to Beavis and Butt-head.^[7] Christine Langan alluded to both Shakespearean and Biblical themes, painting Brown and Blair as Cain and Abel.^[8]

• Frank Kelly as John Smith, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer who takes control of the party after Neil Kinnock's resignation, only to die less than two years later.
• Paul Rhys as Peter Mandelson, an MP who defects to Blair's side of the party. Rhys studied Donald Macintyre's 1999 biography of Mandelson and gained an appreciation of the politician's work on the Northern Ireland peace process, and of his sexuality. Rhys portrayed Mandelson with a "myopic loyalty" and identified him as "remain[ing] preposterously loyal to Blair" after his defection from Kinnock and Brown.^[9] The representation of Mandelson was compared to both Iago^[6] and Pandarus.^[7]
• Matt Blair as Ed Balls
• Dexter Fletcher as Charlie Whelan
• Elizabeth Berrington as Cherie Blair, Tony Blair's wife, who encourages him to stand for the leadership. Frears deliberately reigned in Berrington to avoid portraying Cherie as too much of a Lady Macbeth figure; in the scene in which Cherie encourages Blair to stand for the leadership, Frears had Berrington stand with her back towards the camera.^[10]

[edit] Production

The film was commissioned in 2002 by ITV's head of drama Nick Elliott, who encouraged Morgan to put aside any other projects and start work on a script as soon as possible.^[6] Granada was initially sceptical of producing it; the company's executive chairman and chief executive—Charles Allen and Simon Shaps—believed that Blair would be forced to resign as Prime Minister over the impending war in Iraq, consequently leaving the story outdated.^[11] The project was believed to be "too cerebral" and attempts were made to persuade Morgan to develop a television series to replace Cold Feet, another Granada production.^[12] John Whiston and Andy Harries convinced them otherwise, citing Granada's history of producing ground-breaking drama and film. ITV's director of channels, David Liddiment, who supported the production, resigned in December 2002 and was replaced by Nigel Pickard, who shared the concerns of Allen and Shaps. 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 Competition Commission.^[13][11] Within 24 hours, Channel 4 backed the production.^[12] A £2 million budget was assigned to the film.^[13]

"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.[12]

Peter Morgan wrote his first script draft in the three weeks preceding Christmas 2002. Recent events such as the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak and the contention surrounding the September Dossier made him believe that the perceived adversity between Brown and Blair was no longer in the public consciousness. His opinion was changed when he watched the 2002 Labour Party Conference and saw a "thunderous expression" on Brown's face as Bill Clinton praised Blair in his speech; Morgan realised that the rivalry was not over.^[14] This draft was extremely sympathetic to Brown, focusing on what Morgan called "Gordon's heartbreak". Subsequent rewrites toned down this approach, though Brown still remained the "main character".^[12]

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. However, 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.^[12]

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 those 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, though 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 Hansard. In other scenes Morgan utilised dramatic licence, conceding that there was no evidence to suggest that any of the lines spoken elsewhere in the film were ever said in real life.^[12]

Filming was postponed until May 2003 in order to accommodate Sheen's rehearshal schedule for 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.^[3][9] The shoot was scheduled for five weeks. Set design was carried out by Michael Pickwood, a longtime production designer for Granada. The Blair's house was "played" by a house formerly owned by Lord Hailsham. Certain personal effects of the characters that were familiar to the public were added to the sets; in one scene Blair strums his guitar.^[9] The prologue and climactic scene in the Granita restaurant was shot on location in the restaurant itself.^[9]

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]

[edit] 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.^[15]

The film received a screening at the San Francisco Film Festival on 5 May 2007, following an interview with Peter Morgan.^[16] International rights for North America and Australasia were purchased from Channel 4 International by The Weinstein Company in 2007, who sold it to American cable network HBO. HBO screened The Deal on 8 November 2007.^[17] Genius Products, an imprint of The Weinstein Company, released The Deal on region 1 DVD on 11 March 2008.^[18] Channel 4 released it on region 2 DVD on 19 May 2008 under its 4dvd brand.^[19]

[edit] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

Mark Davies, the political reporter for BBC News Online, criticised the bias in favour of Brown present in the script and in Sheen's seemingly 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 the subject's physical tics.^[22] 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."^[23]

The drama won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama and Morrissey won the RTS Programme Award for Male Actor.^[24][25] It was nominated in the RTS category for Best Single Drama and the International Emmy Award category for Best TV Movie or Miniseries.^[25][26]

[edit] Follow-ups

Frears had a clause in his contract that allowed him to direct any sequels.^[7] The success of The Deal prompted the production team to consider a new film—possibly surrounding Britain's commitment to the war in Iraq. In 2004 it was announced that a follow-up would be produced for theatrical release in 2006; The Queen stars Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, with Sheen reprising his role as Blair. The film, written by Morgan, dramatised the week following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Christine Langan described the film as not being a direct sequel, only that it reunited the same creative team.^[27]

As of 2008 a second follow-up is in the early stages of pre-production, once again starring Sheen as Blair. The film has a working title of The Special Relationship and is to be written by Morgan for Left Bank Pictures and BBC Films. The script will explore the relationship between Blair and Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It is unknown whether Frears will direct this third part.^[28][29]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Deal at Channel4.com
• The Deal at the BFI's Screenonline
• The Deal at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Works of Peter Morgan Television The Jury (2002) · The Deal (2003) · Henry VIII (2003) · Colditz (2005) · Longford (2006) Film The Last King of Scotland (2006) · The Queen (2006) · The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) · Frost/Nixon (2008) · The Damned United (2009) · The Special Relationship (announced) · Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (announced) Theatre Frost/Nixon (2006)