dunmore_ego "All political friendship is strategic and conditional." --Tony Blair adviser.A touching bromance between two heads of state.The Special Relationship refers to that unspoken sexual tension between America and any other country that needs to suckle at her black milk teat so she won't crush them like Hulk crushes puny humans.THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP here alludes to the maternal suckling that President Bill Clinton offered Prime Minister Tony Blair when he took office, acting as adviser, mentor, and dirty uncle who exposed himself.Dennis Quaid is uncanny as Clinton, getting the voice, attitude and hair exactly right; Hope Davis is superb as Hillary, down to the witch's cackle. And Michael Sheen is Tony Blair once again on film. (I was unaware that SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP is in fact the third in writer Peter Morgan's own "special relationship" with Tony Blair as his subject, the first being THE DEAL (2003) then THE QUEEN (2006), all starring Sheen as Blair. Who woulda thought Tony Blair warranted a trilogy?!) RELATIONSHIP is a whirlwind fly-on-the-wall drama, a behind-the-scenes snapshot of a few moments in political history; as Clinton came into his second term as president, Blair was being elected Prime Minister. Movie follows two main events in their interaction - Bubba's Lewinsky indiscretion and how Blair stood by him, and Bubba's Kosovo decisions and how Blair stood over him.All these historical figures are still alive so it is with some speculation we listen to their bedroom chatter, prying into two couples talking about each other the way couples do. While Clinton relaxes on a bed popping chocolates into his mouth, he remarks to Hillary about how handsome Blair is; while Blair's wife Cherie (Helen McCrory) is amused at the U.S. press calling Bill and Hillary "Billary." (Would Blair and Bubba then be "Blubba"?) And what exactly did Bill tell Hillary about Monica? We see him confess like your average contrite philanderer to his frowning, icy wife - yet I very much doubt a president would prostrate himself so emotionally without also an eye towards the indomitable power he wields on the world stage and his wife's conduit to that power were she to keep her mouth shut.On Lewinsky, Blair remarks, "What he does is a private matter and it doesn't affect his ability to govern," publicly standing shoulder to shoulder with Clinton. Supporting a president in return for that president's friendship offers an insight into what might have made Blair W's lapdog. We now see that if one were unaware of Bush's flagrant stupidity, one would adopt the same supportive stance of the American presidency. However, in hindsight, Blair obviously bet on the wrong horse with Bush Jr, and irrevocably sullied his own legacy.SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP keeps the kid gloves on - a little apologist, a little leftist rewriting of history, a little extra sheen on The Sheen; it is, after all, a towering tribute to Tony. (And we thought only superheroes and hobbits warranted trilogies!) Clinton looks like a man who PROBABLY had an affair, and Blair looks dignified and astute in standing up to Clinton against pussyfooting in Kosovo.In 1999, Blair wanted ground troops in Kosovo to augment NATO air strikes against the ethnic cleansing being prosecuted by Yugoslav president Milosevic. Clinton disagreed. Much pouting ensues. Until Blair gives a fiery speech worthy of a King or a Kennedy, "...Let no one doubt again the moral justification for invading another country for humanitarian ends!" making 70% of Americans at the time poll that they wouldn't mind Blair as president. And we clearly see the signposts leading to why Blair supported Idiot Bush's Iraq.Newspaper article: "Listening to the press conference one could not help but note how much Clinton could have learned from his Churchillian comrade." In these men's storied lives, only so much can be crammed into two hours screen time, so before we know it, Blair and Clinton are watching W steal the 2000 election from Al Gore on TV. Blair believed, "I would be the senior partner now, Bush would be the junior." And Clinton offers advice, "These guys play rough. Their administration was born in controversy, national shame and illegality - and it's my bet that's the way they'll go out." It's a great line, but was Bill really that prescient? Blair opined he would much rather be in the big room with the people making the decisions than left out. Well, turns out he WAS allowed into the Bush regime's fold by President Dick Cheney - but was relegated to scapegoat and red-headed child.Movie ends with real footage of new president George W. Bush and Tony Blair publicly affirming the relationship between their two countries. And I think this ending warrants another beginning - now we definitely require a Part IV to Peter Morgan's insightful series: "Blair and Bush - The Bitchboy Years." Where once he showed such courage against the establishment, poor Blair was unwittingly caught in the cogs of unbridled stupidity and became the establishment's whipping boy, but if anyone can do it, Morgan would be the researcher to mitigate Blair's bungled alliance during Bush's acid reign.In relationships - even special ones - everyone deserves a second chance at bromance.

paul david I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie on DVD and draw the obvious comparison with Michael Sheens performance of tony Blair in the 'Queen' and of how Blair was portrayed in 'The Ghost Writer'. 'W' also springs to mind about George Bush and of course Peter Morgans other recent work about a political leader, 'Frost Nixon'.At first I was watching a political comedy where Tony Blair was destined to become an Americanized Mr Bean. Dennis Quaid, as professional an actor as he is, was way too overpowering in the role of Bill Clinton who I am sure is a lot more gentler as a guy than the film portrayed.The film ends up with us feeling a degree of sympathy for both Blair and particularly Clinton, though I doubt the reality of this. How special this relationship was compared with Thatcher and Regan or Blair and Bush, its difficult to say but it was absorbing to see the facts put through the 'mill' and an almost objective appraisal given of the problems raised by both leaders. Was the French President Chirac really that pompous? Were the leaders that close on a personal level? Actually, I think Tony Blair must be thinking himself - gosh that guy Sheen acts me than I do myself. He is certainly a very likable 'duplicate' of the real thing and perhaps a more acceptable version. a lot of recent history is dealt with in this 90 minute movie, as others have commented, nothing at all with that, the film is useful if only for English education in hearing English and American language side by side and a terrific dose of history as I have mentioned.Might get Michael Sheen a much deserved Oscar nomination. As for Dennis Quaid, as AL gore might have once said - you are NO Bill Clinton! Got to say the two ladies playing the wives of Cheree and Hilary are almost comedy like and the script to some extent is more appropriate to a TV sit com than a movie suitable for DVD or cinema release.Not knocking the movie. Its very watchable, not in any way tedious, quite funny at times and keep the kids out of the room at certain times when sexual innuendos are mentioned with reference to Bill Clinton's 'you know what'! Enjoy!

freemantle_uk Peter Morgan obviously has two obsessions in his life, Tony Blair and Michael Sheen. He is one of the few big name writers around and after looking at the rise of Tony Blair and how he dealt with the death of Princess Diana, he tackles his first few years a Prime Minister and his friendship with Bill Clinton.The Special Relationship starts in 1992 with Tony Blair's (Sheen) famous visit to America after Bill Clinton (Dennis Quiad) was elected President and in 1996 when as Leader of the Opposition was given almost a state visit by the President. As Prime Minister Blair and Clinton become close friends, believing they could usher in a new centre left progressive age around the world. They work closely together during the Northern Ireland peace process and the Monica Lewinsky scandal, before differing over Kosovo.Morgan is of course a very talented writer, with The Jury, The Deal, The Last King of Scotland and Frost/Nixon all being excellent pieces of work. In a 90 minute package Morgan tries to cover as much ground as possible: anyone interested in government and politics will be hooked to the film. But this is a blurred vision of what happened and this is a fiction because we really don't know what happened behind closed doors. Morgan sets out to show Blair and Clinton were friends more on a political level then a personal level, with Clinton and his staff more willing to ignore Blair. This is a slightly bias account because Morgan ignores that Alistair Campbell (Mark Bazeley) was in reality a vile piece of work when it came to power and the media, always looking for a fight or that Cherie Blair (Helen McCrory) is the type of woman who enjoys all the benefits of power, such as nice shopping trips and getting free gifts. The film also suffers from the benefit of hindsight, with Clinton predicting a new progressive age, considering that he was suffering from a right-wing Republican Congress and America is a right-wing country, coming up with characters that are even worst (Bush Jr. and Sarah Palin), or that Blair seeing it as the West's moral duty to go into Kosovo, leading to some of his arguments with Iraq. The political discussions and philosophy is interesting, but it would have been good to have more of how government and international relations functions.Sheen has made the role of Tony Blair his own and no one else could command that role like he does. He is able to show Blair as either a caring man who thinks he is doing what he thinks is doing the right thing to a selfish man who is only interested in power for himself. But Quiad was a poor choice as Clinton. Quiad was obviously trying his best but he did not have to the look nor able to capture his voice or mannerisms. The other supporting actors were also strong performances.Richard Loncraine does have a form making TV movies, with The Gathering Storm being an award winning film. Considering the material could be dry he was able to tell an fast paced film, balancing the different plots, but it was clear he was working with a limited budget. Many of the scenes were internal and stock footage was used. Loncraine and Morgan should have made The Special Relationship should have been grander, either with electioneering, the planning for the work or the on going struggles the two politicians had to face. It would have been great to see how someone like Aaron Sorkin would have handled the material with his flair and knowledge of politics. Loncraine is not Stephen Freers who handled Morgan's previous Morgan and Sheen originally wanted to make a film about Blair and Bush Jr. but thought that relationship with Clinton was more interesting. That is true because it was more of a partnership between Blair and Clinton because under Bush Blair just gave in to him on everything, Iraq, mission defence and extradition and got nothing in return. Under Bush Blair was a puppet and we all remember during the 2006 Lebanon War Bush just dismissing Blair, with Blair not standing up to Bush. Bush and the neo-cons were so dogmatic that if anyone dogmatic that they set out to destroy or ignore any one who criticised them. It was his way or no way.

eastbergholt2002 The Special Relationship is a disappointing and shallow film about Tony Blair's relationship with two U.S. presidents. Blair is a conundrum and probably only his wife really knows what makes him tick. Peter Morgan has almost become Blair's official biographer in film, however his take on Blair seems superficial and simple-minded. Morgan's Blair is likable, charismatic, loyal and sincere. He's also a devoted family man and a Christian. In this film he is constantly trying to do the right thing and comes off like a cross between a soap-opera character and a secular saint. Most people in Britain wouldn't buy into this interpretation.The men and women who become the leaders of countries are usually incredibly ambitious, manipulative and complicated. They often like Clinton and Kennedy have potentially self destructive appetites. Blair we are meant to believe is just like a suburban dad. I have always been somewhat cynical about Blair's motives. When I first came across him during an election campaign in 1983 he was a socialist who recommended nationalization and nuclear disarmament. He gradually moved to the right and around 2003 became a fully fledged neocon. This film suggests that Blair was basically a good guy trying to help the oppressed peoples of the world. For most people in Britain he is someone who put the interests of the United States above those of his own country. Not surprisingly he is still popular in the US but at home he hasn't been forgiven for supporting the Iraq War and for claiming that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Blair left office with approval ratings in the mid-twenties and British newspaper columnists love to write negative articles about him. The big mystery is what motivated his course of action, until his liaison with Bush he was popular. Since his resignation in 2007 Blair has done well financially out of his unwavering support for US foreign policy. In Polanski's the Ghost Writer it is even suggested that Blair was working for the CIA. It's a mystery this film doesn't help solve. MI5 has gone on record to say that Saddam wasn't a threat to Britain in 2003. The Special Relationship is a throw-back to the biopics of the 1940s when "great men" were viewed sympathetically. I am looking forward to someday watching a film about the real Tony Blair. He is a more interesting character than the portrait painted in this simple-minded rationalization.