A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Apprentice” (2024).
With the US elections just 16 days away, what better time to release this excoriating account of the early life of Donald Trump. Perhaps the nearly 50% of the US population who still seem, against in my mind all possible reason, to be supporting this man might watch this and come to their senses. Because you can’t come out of this film with anything other than disdain for Trump given this sordid story of greed, deceit, narcissism, extortion and rape.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“The Apprentice” Plot Summary:
Donald J. Trump (Sebastian Stan) is the heir to the construction and housing business of his father Fred (Martin Donovan), although mired with Justice Department legal issues. He meets hotshot lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) who gets results through fair means or (normally) foul. Cohn sees potential in Trump and takes him under his wing, teaching him the dirty tricks that get him results.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Sexual violence, strong sex, language, drug misuse, discrimination”)
Talent:
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan, Catherine McNally, Charlie Carrick, Mark Rendall.
Directed by: Ali Abbasi.
Written by: Gabriel Sherman.
Running Time: 2h 2m.
“The Apprentice” Summary:
Positives:
- Fabulous acting from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.
- An interesting insight into the backstory of the man and his dysfunctional family.
Negatives:
- The film dabbles in some aspects of his business over-reach but never gets to grips with how he escapes.
Review of “The Apprentice”:
Stan IS Trump.
It must be a real risk for the actors and team involved in this film to take their roles, especially (God forbid) Trump gets into power for a second term, Trump could make life very difficult for them. He’s certainly not a man to veer away from spiteful retribution.
But thank heavens Sebastian Stan (or “that no good, rubbish, nobody sort of hack” as no doubt Trump now refers to him) did take this role since for me he absolutely captured the essence of Trump. It goes beyond just an impersonation of his facial mannerisms and speech patterns. He seems to inhabit Trump at a deeper level such that I ended up really believing I was seeing Trump on the screen. It’s also a clever evolution of the character through the film: he is much more “Trumpy” at the end of the film than he is at the beginning where he is more hesitant and unsure of himself.
AIDS time.
Jeremy Strong (so good as Kendall Roy in “Succession”) is also fabulous as the gay and outrageously corrupt Roy Cohn. The film works its way through the New York of the 70’s and ’80s, so you know that the AIDS crisis is coming and will impact the story. Strong’s portrayal of Cohn’s final days suffering from his “liver cancer”, as he insists on calling it, is brilliant: but it says something for his role earlier in the film that you feel very little pity for the man.
Rapist?
Maria Bakalova plays Trump’s first wife Ivana and she does a good job although has a relatively minor role in the film. I would have liked to have had more insight into their troubled marriage and more drama in there.
One of the more difficult-to-watch scenes in the film is where Trump and Ivana fight and he forces her to the marble floor of their home and brutally rapes her. This Wiki entry on the film mentions that this accusation was based on their divorce records. “In a deposition under oath, rendered during their divorce proceedings, Ivana accused Donald of rape and of pulling out her hair by the handful when his plastic surgery to alter his hairline failed.” So, unless Trump sues the filmmakers for libel, you would have to form the conclusion that the film is largely accurate in that respect. It seems unbelievable that this story wouldn’t have precluded Trump from being president once, let alone twice.
Escape artist?
However good the film is (and I did find it good, if depressing) I never felt I got to grips with the techniques that the man used to get out of the binds his business decision kept getting him in. There is a scene where the developers for a new building give him a month to get the new finance. Trump tries to bamboozle his increasingly addled father into renegotiating the family trust to give him access to more funds. But he is defeated in that by his indomitable mother (Catherine McNally). Yet we never find out how he dug himself out of the hole, or the other over-extensions that he evidently made.
Triggers
As above, there is a scene of marital abuse and rape in the film which is quite brutal and unpleasant. There are also some quite graphic scenes of surgery late in the film.
Summary Thoughts on “The Apprentice”
Trump has inevitably described this as “a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job” and described those involved in it as “human scum”. I would just love to have been a fly on the wall while he was watching it for the first time…. now THAT would have been a documentary I would have gone out of my way to watch.
Sadly, I read that it is not getting any significant marketing in the US at the moment, but hopefully enough people will see it to at least help sway the vote just a little bit more towards Kamala Harris on Nov 5th.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “The Apprentice”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3jeNId-b48 .
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I love when people that don’t even live in this country think they know what’s best. You’re basing your “opinions” on zero firsthand experience but you still think you know better than the people that are actually here and know how much better everything was when Trump was in office. If your goal is to get on The View, keep it up.
You’re right I don’t have a vote, but whoever gets elected gets a big impact on everyone across the world. (I actually toned down my post from what I really thought.)