Just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about this man, here comes this movie. The Apprentice is a thought-provoking biopic focusing on Donald Trump’s rise to power and his relationship with mentor Roy Cohn. After watching it, I can safely say that we now know how Trump became the person we know him as now. I don’t know whether we should make the distinction between Trump’s public persona and his “closed-door” persona. I don’t think we should as his drive for success smothered young Trump early on and all that’s left to know is what you see on television. However, I am, yet again, getting ahead of myself with these psychological aspects. So, let’s do this by the book.
The Apprentice has strong Succession vibes blending character development with intelligent humor. Especially since one of its main stars is Jeremy Strong (Kendall Roy) who plays Roy Cohn. The camera work and the semi-documentary cinematography strongly enhance this feeling. Moreover, the production team went to great lengths to bring you back to the seventies and eighties. They were using old 16mm films and VHS-like filters to visually put you there. Add to this phenomenal acting, a sturdy script, and ruthless cynicism permeating everything and you got yourself a hit. The story itself is intriguing and gripping. It’s intriguing and gripping whether you like Donald Trump or not.
Director Ali Abbasi invited him to a closed screening fully expecting him to like the movie. The Apprentice paints a realistic picture of the world of the rich and powerful. That picture is not just morally ambiguous and full of shades of gray but also, at times, viciously evil. This is a world where scruples and morality are an afterthought at best. And young Trump wasn’t like that when he first entered this universe of greed. You can also argue that he willingly stepped into that cesspool of destructive capitalism, willing to do whatever it took to “make it”. Cohn’s three rules, which Trump now claims are his ideas, are still in use not just in the United States but everywhere in the world.
Those three rules are: always attack, never admit wrongdoing, and always claim victory, even if defeated. We kind of knew all of this was happening but it was fascinating to watch how it all actually works. The shady deals, the blackmails, and the backstabbing, it’s all just so nasty. At this point, I need to remind you this is a movie based on true events. Almost everything you’re going to see really did happen and there are witnesses that can confirm these stories. I also want to mention that apart from all of that stuff, we’ll also see how Trump fell in love with his first wife, Ivana Zelníčková, played by Maria Bakalova.
Sebastian Stan (I, Tonya, Captain America: The First Avenger) did not play Donald Trump, he was Donald Trump. I remember first seeing him play Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy and thinking this guy is good. He nailed down Trump’s mannerisms and speech so well that at times you’ll think it’s really him despite the differences in their physical appearances. And I don’t think I need to tell you that Jeremy Strong did a good job. Roger Stone, a close friend of both Trump and Cohn, said that his performance was “uncanny in its accuracy.” On top of great acting, we have even better storytelling and character development.
The story is going to take you to New York in the late 70s and early 80s with authenticity. And the filming style helped with that immensely. Finally, just a couple of days ago, I watched Netflix’s docu-series Mr. McMahon about Vince McMahon. I highly recommend you check it out because it’s another thought-provoking character study. This time without any mentors or stuff like that.
Director: Ali Abbasi
Writer: Gabriel Sherman
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan, Charlie Carrick, Ben Sullivan
Fun Facts: Journalist Gabriel Sherman, the writer of The Apprentice, originally came up with the idea for the movie during Trump’s 2016 campaign. Mostly because he was hearing from the people in the Trump’s inner circle that “he’s winning because he’s using the lessons that Roy Cohn taught him”,
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8368368/
