The Deal
(2003/The Miriam Collection DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
When
Stephen Frears gets his hands on a subject, he sometimes likes to stay with it,
as when he did several Roddy Doyle books as feature films, including The Van and The Snapper. Following the
success of The Queen, he has made a prequel about the uneven relationship
between Gordon brown and Tony Blair in The
Deal (2003) and though the film is not as good, it is a good companion.
For more
on The Queen, try this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5401/The+Queen+(Blu-ray+++DVD-Video)
This
turns out to be a British telefilm, but some of them are still so good, they
get upscale treatment and this is one such production. Michael Sheen first played Blair here and is
very effective, while David Morrissey takes on Brown and is somewhat convincing
as they negotiate and tolerate each other throughout. In Unitary/Parliamentary Democracies where
you have many parties, it is harder to get coalitions together and hold onto
power, then those in power can hold elections anytime to test public
confidence.
That all
plays well into this tale of behind-the-scenes that can be creepy and
disturbing, but also honest and revealing as the script by Peter Morgan (who
wrote The Queen) leaves no stone
unturned and can be very far reaching.
However, there is less to tell here and I was never totally convinced by
Morrissey, who I have never found totally convincing on screen. Still, this is smart production and worth
seeing, especially if you liked The
Queen.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is has the same documentary approach as The Queen and that holds back it
picture quality as so much analog video footage is used, though the approach
works. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound
is dialogue-based and just fine for a TV movie, but don’t expect much in the
way of sonics or a soundfield. Extras
include text bios, Frears interview and Morgan/Producer Christine Langan
feature length audio commentary track.
- Nicholas Sheffo
