‘All political friendship is strategic and conditional...’
In 2003, Michael Sheen starred as former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Peter Morgan scripted TV drama The Deal which focused on his relationship with Gordon Brown (as portrayed by Gordon Brown). In 2006, Morgan teamed up with director Stephen Frears for The Queen – charting the death of Princess Diana and the aftermath for the government and the royal family, with Sheen again returning as Blair. The Special Relationship marks Sheen’s third and presumably final outing as Blair, and unfortunately, it’s very much a case of diminishing returns…
On the eve of Blair’s (Sheen) election as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he strikes up a relationship with United States President Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid). Together, they strike peace in Ireland, defeat Slobodan Milosovic, and attempt to survive a scandal.
Morgan returns on writing duty with Richard Loncraine behind the camera this time, and the result is a film with inconsistent pacing and unclear messaging. This is far from a warts and all portrayal of two deeply flawed men, and in that respect, the heavy weight of history has not been kind to The Special Relationship. This is a shame because Sheen is once again great as Blair, and Quaid provides an uncanny impression of the 42nd U.S. President. Elsewhere, Hope Davis is given a thankless task in trying to portray some humanity as Hillary Clinton and Helen McCrory – who is great throughout – isn’t given enough to do as Blair’s other half Cherie.
The problem is that both Clinton and Blair have become such loathsome figures that it’s difficult to watch a nearly two-hour movie based on them – capped off by an excruciating real-life interview of Blair and George Bush – a clip that almost made me gip. While there are some great scenes here, Morgan’s writing feels a little blunted and Sheen a little tired of the role. Stick to the first two films in the Blair-Sheen trilogy.