The Deal (2003) (TV)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Peter Morgan (written by) and
James Naughtie (based on the book by)

Release Date:

8 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Politics | Based On Book

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

David Morrissey	...	Gordon Brown
Matt Blair	...	Ed Balls
Michael Sheen	...	Tony Blair
Dexter Fletcher	...	Charlie Whelan
Philippe De Grossouvre	...	Waiter
Eilidh Fraser	...	Returning Officer
Frank Kelly	...	John Smith
Stuart McQuarrie	...	Scottish MP 1
Ian Hanmore	...	Scottish MP 2
Nick Falk	...	Junior Tory Minister
Paul Rhys	...	Peter Mandelson
Jon Snow	...	Himself
Stuart Bowman	...	Journalist 1
Roshan Rohatgi	...	Journalist 2
Gordon Morris	...	Party Worker
Gordon Kennedy	...	John Brown
Jayne McKenna	...	SNP Candidate
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Cherie Blair
Jessica Oyelowo	...	Make-up Artist
Glenna Morrison	...	Anji Hunter
Peter Morgan	...	TV Interviewer
John Normington	...	Shadow Minister
Clare Clifford	...	Euro Delegate (as Claire Clifford)
Valerie Edmond	...	Sheena McDonald
Kananu Kirimi	...	Press Secretary
Robert Hines	...	Political Editor
David Nicholls	...	Production Assistant (as David A. Nicholls)
Andrew Rawnsley	...	Himself
Joanna Scanlan	...	Sue Nye
Kenna Campbell	...	Herself
Keeley Gainey	...	Soap Actress
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paddy Ashdown	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Zeinab Badawi	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Margaret Beckett	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tony Benn	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tony Blair	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gordon Brown	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Buerk	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Alastair Campbell	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kenneth Clarke	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Anne Diamond	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ray Donn	...	Officer (uncredited)
Michael Foot	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Norman Fowler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Roy Hattersley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Derek Hatton	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dennis Healey	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Edward Heath	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Neil Kinnock	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Norman Lamont	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nigel Lawson	...	Himself (archive sound) (uncredited)
John Major	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Trevor McDonald	...	Himself (archive sound) (uncredited)
David Mellor	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nick Owen	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Prescott	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Arthur Scargill	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Julia Somerville	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
David Steel	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Alastair Stewart	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Edward Stourton	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jack Straw	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Norman Tebbit	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Denis Thatcher	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Margaret Thatcher	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jim Wallace	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Stephen Frears

Writing credits
Peter Morgan		(written by)
James Naughtie		based on the book by

Produced by
Lucy Bedford	....	assistant producer
Sue Calverley	....	line producer
Andy Harries	....	executive producer
Christine Langan	....	producer
Peter Morgan	....	associate producer
John Yorke	....	commissioning editor (uncredited)

Original Music by
Nathan Larson

Cinematography by
Alwin H. Küchler		(director of photography) (as Alwin Küchler)

Film Editing by
Lucia Zucchetti

Casting by
Leo Davis

Production Design by
Michael Pickwoad

Art Direction by
Malcolm Stone

Costume Design by
Odile Dicks-Mireaux

Makeup Department
Paul Mooney	....	makeup artist
Susanne Moser	....	makeup trainee
Anne Spiers	....	hair designer
Anne Spiers	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ben Howard	....	second assistant director
Stuart Renfrew	....	first assistant director
Alex Streeter	....	third assistant director
Devina Artley	....	daily third assistant director (uncredited)
Chris Burgess	....	additional third assistant director (uncredited)
Josh Wilkins	....	daily third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Dominic Capon	....	production buyer
Barry Gates	....	dressing prophand
Catriona McKail	....	assistant art director
Roy O'Connor	....	property master
Amy Pickwoad	....	art department assistant
Michael Povey	....	stand-by prop hand
Chris Rawlings	....	stand-by prop hand
James Skipsey	....	dressing prophand
Ian Taylor	....	stand-by construction

Sound Department
David McMillan	....	sound maintenance
Nigel Mills	....	dubbing editor
Reg Mills	....	sound recordist
Ben Norrington	....	dubbing editor
Adrian Rhodes	....	dubbing mixer
Mike Wood	....	dubbing editor (as Mike Woods)
Colette Dahanne	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Rik Elliott	....	sound (uncredited)
Lee Kerr	....	sound (uncredited)
Adam Sharpe	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Rowena Wilkinson	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Marcus Millichope	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthew Butler	....	electrician
Peter Byrne	....	clapper loader
Toby Flesher	....	electrician
Reuben Garrett	....	gaffer
Tony Goulding	....	electrician
Lorraine Jones	....	camera trainee: FT2
Henry Landgrebe	....	clapper loader: b camera
Stephen Mathie	....	rigging gaffer
Rob Peek	....	stand-by rigger
Jim Philpott	....	grip
Terry Roberts	....	electrician
Tony Sankey	....	grip
Micky Seamore	....	stand-by rigger
Olly Tellett	....	focus puller
Marcel Zyskind	....	Steadicam operator
Marcel Zyskind	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Lissy Holm	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kate Chilcott	....	wardrobe assistant
Ilona Karas	....	wardrobe trainee
Colin May	....	wardrobe supervisor
Nigel Hyams	....	daily costume assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Pani Ahmadi-Moore	....	assistant editor
Andrew Mitchell	....	on-line editor
Tamer Osman	....	on-line editor
Colin Peters	....	colorist

Transportation Department
Barry Goodwin	....	unit driver (uncredited)
Rob MacKnight	....	driver: unit minibus (uncredited)

Other crew
Seb Cardinal	....	floor runner
Andrew Gwyn Davies	....	production trainee: FT2 (as Andrew Davies)
Penny Dyer	....	voice coach
Ruth Gibbs	....	unit nurse
Kerry Gill-Pryde	....	researcher
Simon Hill	....	accounts assistant
Pat Karam	....	location manager
Marigo Kehoe	....	head of production
Joanna Lazarus	....	assistant coordinator
Amy McCombe	....	location assistant
Marcus Millichope	....	titles
Victoria Mills	....	production assistant
Rebecca Nazareth	....	production coordinator
Charlie Simpson	....	location unit manager
Dee Taylor	....	script supervisor
Nathan Woods	....	production accountant
Aidan Boulter	....	client liaison manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Granada Television

Distributors

• Channel 4 Television Corporation (2003) (UK) (TV)
• 4dvd (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Arte (2007) (Germany) (TV)
• Genius Products (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2007) (USA) (TV)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Casting Collective  extras casting
• Compuhire  computer and video playback
• Offline Editing Company, The  post-production facilities
• On Set Location Services  facilities vehicles

Also Known As:

Runtime:

90 min | USA:76 min (HBO Print)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Netherlands:AL

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

Much of the plot is reportedly derived from the book "The Rivals" by James Naughtie.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Despite being set in the 1980s and early 1990s, no attempt has been made to disguise the scenes shot in Central London, so modern cars and buses (as of 2003) are regularly seen behind the characters.

Movie Connections:

References "EastEnders" (1985)

Entertaining but not as interesting as it could have been due to it's nature

It is approaching an election in the UK when the leader of the Labour party, John Smith, suffers another in a line of heart attacks and dies. With the leadership campaign about to start the clear choice appears to be Gordon Brown, a stanch Scotsman. However Tony Blair is also beginning to appear more likely as he will appeal to Southern voters who would be turned off by Brown. Blair rings Brown to arrange a meeting to discuss which will go for the job. The film flashbacks to the start of their relationship, sharing an office in Westminster on their first seats.

I have recently seen a BBC political drama (The Project) which was focused around the rise (and perversion) of Labour - it lasted 4 hours and was unlikely to win over anyone who wasn't already suitably informed about the topic. The Deal, on the other hand, is 90 minutes long and is a punchy little summary of the supposed deal brokered between Blair and Brown to prevent them having to battle for the party leadership in the wake of John Smith's death. This is worthwhile as it is likely to attract those not actually into politics but just looking for a reasonable drama to pass the time.

As such it moves along quite well. It covers lot of ground quite quickly and will give those lacking the knowledge (like me) a good understanding of the political landscape of the time. It also has a certain amount of drama - some of which is real and some of which is provided by characters and sinister direction. The one flaw I did feel it had was that it was a drama and not a documentary, to that end dialogue has been created and scenes are the combination of sources and records. This is still good but it has the effect that we can't take everything at face value - I would have preferred if more sources were clearly defined and the facts more clearly established. The fact that the whole film is a drama means that I couldn't be sure how much of the film (or how little) was actually artistic license.

The cast are good. The better role is Morrissey as Brown. He manages to get his mannerisms right without letting it turn into a impression, he plays him as a dour character (which Brown pleaded innocence of the next day on the BBC, despite claiming not to have seen the film) which is the image many have of him, but he does bring him to life well. Sheen's Blair is also good but is more of a mimic than a real character - it hard to describe but it felt like he had spent more time focusing on the mannerisms than the character , although, that said, he did bring another layer out at some points (witness his face change as Brown leaves the restaurant at the end). Rhys' Mandelson is too much of an effort to be sinister and didn't work for me - the Mandelson that we have seen is more lively and overt than this, he does have his sinister side but the fact that it is in this colourful shell makes it more interesting, that wasn't brought out. The support cast is good but this is a two-hander and the two characters carry it well - even if the restaurant scene is not exactly the equal of Heat!

Overall this works well as a political drama which will reach those not normally reached by this type of material. However the fact that the facts were mixed with dramatised and fictional scenes was a problem for me and I wasn't totally sure what bits were real and what bits were interpreted. Still an enjoyable film nonetheless.