The Deal

If you liked The Queen, and have some interest in British politics, then this earlier effort by the same team -- director Stephen Frears, writer Peter Morgan, actor Michael Sheen as Tony Blair -- is well worth seeing, intelligent and plausible. The “deal” is between Blair and Gordon Brown, between the Clintonesque smoothie who would bring Labor back into power and the dour Scot who was the brains and force behind the party’s revival. Tony was supposed to get two terms, and then it would be Gordon’s turn. The two friends, who had shared a tiny office as newly-elected backbenchers in opposition, would get to share power and lead Britain up from Thatcherism. As appealing as Blair can be, his painful wrongness on Iraq was also the excuse to keep Brown waiting for extra years, so just as with Bill & Hill, the well-intentioned pursuit and exercise of power was sometimes a matter of self-indulgence and betrayal. Is it possible to be a good person and an effective politician at the same time? This film will make it more interesting to watch from a distance what sort of PM Gordon Brown turns out to be. (2003, HBO/T, n.) *7-*