Us
Captain Marvel
Widows
The Walking Dead
Log in with Facebook
OR
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango.
Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password.
We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified.
Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service.
No consensus yet.
All Critics (21) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (3) | DVD (2)
The relationship between Blair and Clinton never seems capable, dramatically speaking, of bearing the weight the film assigns to it.
The film is immensely entertaining, whether fair or not. Sheen is brilliant, as we have come to expect, but Quaid's Clinton is perhaps the greater surprise because he gets well beyond the charm.
Very astute.
It's smart and believable and very well-acted.
The Special Relationship does indeed focus on a friendship between two (admittedly powerful) dudes, but this is more than a mere episode of Entourage. For one thing, stuff happens.
[The] glimpse of the real Blair was far more interesting than the clichéd version we saw throughout the film.
The third act in the chronicles of Tony Blair features Michael Sheen and scribe Peter Morgan in fine form, but a shaky turn by Dennis Quaid mars The Special Relationship from reaching its full potential.
A dramatically flat exploration of the friendship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Bill Clinton, as they navigate the personal and national challenges of high office.
The most unintentionally homoerotic film of the year. Eventually you start willing them to make out. Solid script. Slightly unconvincing Clinton performance from Quaid.
As before, Michael Sheen is able to project a kind of toothy sincerity reminiscent of Tony Blair in the early stages of his political incumbency. There's a sweetness there, and at times, almost a naivity.
The Special Relationship marks a worthy addition to Morgan's ever-expanding body of work as a modern historian of the big screen.
Still, for all its flaws there's a compelling energy in The Special Relationship.
Michael Sheen steals the show, and turns in another excellent performance. The movie itself was a little under whelming for me...decent, but nothing overly exciting.
Super Reviewer
Could have been better I think but interesting. Wasn't as into Quaid's Clinton as I was the other main three actors - great performaces from them.
Michael Sheen reprises his role as Tony Blair from The Queen. This time we have more insight to Blair as presented through his relationship will US President Bill Clinton. Dennis Quaid is believable as Clinton, but Hope Davis shines as Hillary. Doesn't shy away from controversy and paints an even picture of Blair as an idealist, but ultimately a politician through and through.
If you wander about the name of the movie, it comes from a phrase used to describe the close political, diplomatic, cultural and historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, following its use in a 1946 speech by British statesman Winston Churchill. The first drafts of the film dealt with Blair's special relationships with U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. However, screenwriter Peter Morgan excluded the Bush scenes from subsequent drafts (thus ending the narrative on January 20, 2001) because he found the Blair/Clinton dynamic more interesting. Morgan intended to make his directorial debut with the film but backed out a month before filming began and was replaced by Richard Loncraine. It is well executed movie with a real PR success... it managed to present two real war criminals as some kind of "liberators" with high moral standards...
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
View All