Movie Review: The Apprentice

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Donald Trump is a fascinating figure. As such it was really only a matter of time before someone tried to turn his life into a movie. Cleverly written by Gabriel Sherman and stylishly directed by Ali Abbasi, The Apprentice is the first major effort to do so and specifically zeroes in on Trump’s (Sebastian Stan) relationship with attorney Roy M. Cohn (Jeremy Strong) and the ways that it shaped him into the man he is today.

In 1973, the Trump family business is being investigated by federal government for alleged racist policies in their apartment buildings. A young and somewhat naïve Donald encounters Cohn at a members-only restaurant and appeals to him to take on the case. Roy senses something in Donald that causes him to say yes and also begin to take the young man under his wing. Showing him how to successfully navigate the New York City bureaucracy Cohn offers up three rules that should always be followed: attack attack attack, never admit wrongdoing, and always claim victory.

Over the ensuing years, Donald successfully builds a name for himself in the city as a top tier property developer with an outspoken personality. He meets and weds Ivana (Maria Bakalova) and takes greater control of his family’s company. He also becomes more and more full of himself and increasingly alienates or ignores those closest to him, especially his older brother Freddy (Charlie Carrick) and his wife.

It’s quite clear that the filmmakers don’t have a lot of love for Trump, as he is ultimately portrayed as scheming, narcissistic, and wholly lacking in empathy. But a movie centered on an entirely contemptible person could get dull fairly quickly, and so Sherman smartly reminds us that there is a genuine person in there who wants a lot of the same things we all do, or at least there was once, and in so doing he does get us to feel some sympathy for him. Stan ably portrays all of this while doing a convincing impersonation of the man that never pushes into cartoonish parody. Strong is especially magnetic as Cohn however, in a career-best performance.

It does sometimes feel as if parts of the story are glossed over or missing as a result of trying to cover so much ground in just 2 hours, with some of Trump’s character developments seeming abrupt. Though the brisk pace does make sure that the audience will never feel bored. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes alarming, and always entertaining, The Apprentice is a movie that feels important, looks fantastic, and is fun to watch. I just wish it offered up a few more answers. ★★★★