Special Relationship

Unlike others boasting of Clintons greatness or blasting him and Blair for their horrible atrocities ...I'll review the movie. I received a "screener" and its an hour and a half ..not the 5 or 600 minutes that Amazon.com lists.

Its a good movie...Quaid is very good and Sheen as its already been noted has played Blair twice before and is fabulous. Hope Davis is also terrific as Hillary. If you enjoyed Frost/Nixon, The Queen, or The Deal...you should enjoy this drama.

I can't give it a 5 star review although I was tempted because its a bit lighter weight than say Frost/Nixon which is a solid 5 in my humble opinion.

If you have an axe to grind in either direction on this you may wish to avoid...if you can check your party politics at the door and just enjoy this deliciously well acted big time political "soap opera" then I heartily recommend. Personally ....Quaid laying on the bed with a small television in his lap and continually pounding down Doritos was almost worth it for me...good fun, interestingly written a great diversion for an hour plus...and better in my opinion than most of the 3D and CGI filled theatrical releases of the day.

This movie contains almost a child like view of the world. The Americans are somewhat all knowing and wise while the British are naive. It is almost as if the British have done a total reverse of their post ww2 view that the British felt that they were the smart ones in the relationship. It cast doubts as to whether there is a special relationship between Britain and the US, and it also contains the view that Tony Blair was not a progressive which the films sees as a criticism of him.

The filming itself was good. There were times, I was stunned how seamlessly, the movie was able to merge the movie into historical films. I also thought that Dennis Quaid played very well.

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Michael Sheen is to Tony Blair what Raymond Massey was to Abraham Lincoln.

Massey may have had an acting advantage, since there were no movies or sound recordings of the 16th President that could be used for comparison, but Sheen has certainly employed the modern technology to his benefit. Indeed, there are many moments in his portrayal of the former British Prime Minister when you forget that you are not watching the real man.

THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP, from HBO Home Entertainment, marks the third time that Sheen has played Blair on screen. Since the plot centers on him, rather than, for example, Queen Elizabeth, his portrayal in this film is much more comprehensive than his earlier efforts.

Set against world events, Peter Morgan's script is, in essence, a story about a "student" learning from and then surpassing his "teacher".

The "teacher" in this case is President Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid in a remarkable performance).

Clinton was nearing the end of his first term as President when Blair became Prime Minister. There was an immediate rapport between the two men and, both being liberals, they pledged to make their "special relationship" work and together bring the free world to their political way of thinking. Blair stood by Clinton when the President's embarrassing sexual affairs nearly brought down his Presidency, but the two friends butted heads over the war in Bosnia.

Directed by Richard Loncraine, this fine film examines the nature of friendship in the world of politics. Hope Davis presents a credible performance as Hillary Clinton and Helen McCrory, as Blair's wife, steals every scene in which she appears.

The DVD includes a "Making of" featurette.

© Michael B. Druxman

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The movie centers primarily on Tony Blair and how the political genius of Bill Clinton helped him along until student became master. Hope Davis owns Hillary Clinton. She did a better job portraying her than perhaps Tina Fey does Palin. Quaid had down Clinton's speech but he simply didn't look like him. The movie starts with an obscure Blair studying the US 1992 campaign to see how the Democrats turned things around. (It is easier for a political party to change its views than it is to change the views of the people.) Cherie Blair is envious of Hillary because Bill shares his power with her as she is his closest adviser. The movie then moves to Ireland then goes through the Monica scandal and climaxes with Blair becoming the master politician over Bosnia-Kosovo genocide. Ominous music is played when Bush is elected (hint at liberal bias). I found the movie to be extremely interesting and more entertaining than I expected. What the movie doesn't show is how Blair got dismantled over his special relationship with Bush and the Iraqi war, although Clinton's final words were that of a warning to Blair NOT to get close to Bush and questions if Blair is a true progressive. There is some sex talk over the Monica affair and Hillary does drop the f-bomb once.

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The movie centers primarily on Tony Blair and how the political genius of Bill Clinton helped him along until student became master. Hope Davis owns Hillary Clinton. She did a better job portraying her than perhaps Tina Fey does Palin. Quaid had down Clinton's speech but he simply didn't look like him. The movie starts with an obscure Blair studying the US 1992 campaign to see how the Democrats turned things around. (It is easier for a political party to change its views than it is to change the views of the people.)

Cherie Blair is envious of Hillary because Bill shares his power with her as she is his closest adviser. The movie then moves to Ireland then goes through the Monica scandal and climaxes with Blair becoming the master politician over Bosnia-Kosovo genocide. Ominous music is played when Bush is elected (hint at liberal bias). I found the movie to be extremely interesting and more entertaining than I expected. What the movie doesn't show is how Blair got dismantled over his special relationship with Bush and the Iraqi war, although Clinton's final words were that of a warning to Blair NOT to get close to Bush and questions if Blair is a true progressive.

There is some sex talk over the Monica affair and Hillary does drop the f-bomb once.

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