Coalition (2015)
I’ve looked at the Left and I’ve looked at the Right, so it only makes sense that to have a complete sense of fairness and balance in my writing, I’m now looking at the Centre, which brings me to Nick Clegg.
Never has there been a more spectacular rise to prominence and fall from grace in British politics like the one that Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. After winning many new fans after a great performance in the first televised debates in UK electoral history, it looked liked Clegg might finally allow the often mocked “third party” in British politics to gain real popular support and possibly change the face of British politics.
However, say the name Nick Clegg now and you’re greeted with accusations of treachery and a legacy of a man whose desire to see his party gain some kind of power, would instead see it nearly wiped out due to his actions. The story of Clegg and the actions that ultimately led to the blackening of his name are captured in the 2015 TV film Coalition.
The film follows the confused situation that followed the result of the 2010 UK General Election, which resulted in a hung parliament in which no party held an overall majority, and thus no party alone was able to form an effective government. At the heart of the story is Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, whose influence soon becomes a chess piece in a complex game between Conservative leader David Cameron and Labour leader and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as they both try to find a way to use the Liberal leader to try and form a coalition government.
I must admit that this film was a weird one to watch, mainly because unlike the other film and TV miniseries in this feature, this is the only one based in reality, albeit a fictionalised version. The viewing experience is made even weirder by the fact that I can actually remember the events depicted in the film, with the 2010 UK election being the first one that I actually forced myself to follow from start to finish, despite being one year shy of the voting age.
The film expertly recreates the events that still linger somewhat in my memory, beginning with those historic TV debates in which Clegg finally managed to make his name known to the public. Although the film does like throw in little prophetic nuggets that would ultimately doom Clegg and his party, with a heated exchange about perhaps scrapping a pledge on tuition fees being the most notable of all. I didn’t mind these bits, but sometimes they are just a tad on the nose.
While the actors portraying the figures rarely look like who they are supposed to be, they all mostly manage to effectively capture the mannerisms and personalities of these figures, but not so much that they become too much like comedic impressions, although some do threaten to.
Bertie Carvel manages to create a sense of sympathy as Nick Clegg, capturing that tireless hunger of trying to change the political landscape, but also wrestling with the notion that this hunger could very well come back and devour his party, as it ultimately would. Carvel’s effective performance makes you understand the desperation of Clegg’s predicament, he really doesn’t want to work with the Conservatives, (the Lib Dems are a left-wing party after all), but finds that his desire to be rid of Labour leader Gordon Brown is ultimately what will drive him into the arms of the Conservatives. With all this in mind, his turmoil and his eventual downfall seem all the more tragic.
I also very much admired Ian Grieve’s performance as Gordon Brown, with the actor managing to humanise the normally gruff and cold seeming Prime Minister, while also managing to perfectly recreate his very distinctive Scottish tones. It’s a genuinely sad moment when he decides to throw in the towel and leave Downing Street, replying to Clegg’s pleas for another chance by saying “I won’t leave in the dark” realising that his moment as the leader of the country has passed.
Mark Dexter also deserves praise for managing to turn the somewhat plastic and robotic figure of David Cameron and managing to make him seem like a real person, one attempting to grab the power within his reach, but terrified about what a coalition could mean for the survival of his leadership of his party.
The supporting cast also does a fine job, although some of them do veer a tad into near pantomime territory. Take Sebastian Armesto’s at times sinister performance as George Osborne, with the actor portraying the former Chancellor with such a sinister and slimy at times that he looks like he’s itching to break the fourth wall House of Cards style and tell us of his evil plans. This is very clear with his somewhat ominous delivery of his proposal of a Con-Lib coalition noting that “They expect us to be ruthless. They’ll be seen as traitors”.
Although no performance is more gloriously cartoonish or joyous to watch than Mark Gattis’s wonderful turn as former Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson. Gatiss is great fun to watch, with him having seemingly taking the former ministers nickname as the “Dark Lord” and ran with it, portraying Mandelson in the same manner as one of his characters in The League of Gentlemen, although Gattis does dial it down when the scene requires it and manages to make the sinister figure of Mandelson feel somewhat human.
Coalition is a fine drama that manages to capture the chaos that followed the 2010 UK election, with all its back room negotiations, desperate pleas, compromises and eventual result. Led by a trio of fine performances, (and one gloriously over the top one) that manage to successfully humanise the normally robotic and dull politicians that occupy British politics, Coalition is well worth a watch this particular election night.
Originally published June 8, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
