I never really knew what to expect when I first heard about The Apprentice (2024), well yes the obvious is that its a movie related to Donald Trump although what was going to be the perspective or point of view was unknown to me, a biopic was expected. Ali Abbasi could have taken Donald Trump’s biopic in so many wrong ways, but after all I was really impressed. It’s a gritty depiction of Trump’s first days in the cutthroat world of New York real estate and it doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that it’s a kind of know it all sleek rich kid who becomes the ruthless figure we know today, its almost like iterally nothing stands out about the story, but it’s told so well with the help of stellar performances by the cast and a visual style that sucks you right into the raw atmosphere of 1970s and 80s New York.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8368368/
- Platform: AppleTV+
Rottentomatoes Rating
From the first time you see Sebastian Stan on screen as a young Donald Trump you can feel the tension. Trump is a man who’s always trying to prove himself, constantly seeking approval from his father and the elite circles he’s attempting to join. It doesn’t really start to change for him until he meets Roy Cohn , played by Jeremy Strong. Trump becomes Cohn’s pupil, learning the ropes of New York real estate from the master and fast learning every trick in the game to make it his own, good part of the film is about their relationships. Cohn, in many ways teaches him how to manipulate the system, evade taxes and crush his enemies with three simple rules: Attack relentlessly, never admit fault and always claim victory.
And we see Trump ascending New York’s real estate scene with more and more of Cohn’s ruthlessness, manipulative and willingness to do whatever it takes to win, at a certain point you start to see how the movie is not shy of showing Trump’s darker side. He turns his back on his brother when he asks for help with addiction, sexually attacks his wife Ivana, played by Maria Bakalova, and eventually throws Cohn to the wolves when he becomes sick with AIDS.
In my opinion, the reason The Apprentice is such a good movie is because it shows us how Trump’s character evolves into the man we all know today, the man has answers for any question you throw at him. We don’t see him make an overnight change but rather we see him slowly cultivating and improving Cohn’s methods and making them his own, latter on when Cohn dies, Trump has taken all of his tricks and teaching to heart but has never acknowledged how much he owes his mentor "always claim victory".
Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump is something else, during this movie with his blond hair, you will never imagine this is The Winter Soldier, similar to when Chris Hemsworth did Dementus on Furiosa (2024), its so compelling and goes deep into the character that changes any impression out of the actor. He doesn’t try to mimic Trump’s voice or manners too closely, it mostly seem that he focuses on capturing the essence of who Trump was during this period: ambitious, insecure and becoming more and more ruthless, he probably figure out to come up with his own version of Trump but still generate this big impact on the audience. The film is able to make Trump pathetic and terrifying at the same time and that’s no easy task. There’s one standout scene in which Trump cruelly dismisses his brother Fred Jr., who is fighting addiction, you can see the fear in Stan's performance, fear that Fred's weakness might somehow bring Fred's weaknesses back on him.
The cast on this movie really went to work, its impressive, Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn. Cohn is played strong as a man who loves power and is simultaneously quite vulnerable underneath the tough exterior. Every single time Stan and Strong were together on this movie, this are some of the best in the movie, the tension between them is palpable as their mentor mentee relationship grows more and more dark and toxic, like Cohn was creating this monster in purpose. There is one particularly chilling moment when Cohn shows Trump his stack of blackmail material on various public figures. “But isn’t that illegal?” Trump asks nervously while Cohn smiles, and replies: 'That's the point.'
I also want to mention Maria Bakalova, who portrayed Ivana Trump, she adds depth to a character who could have easily been a more flat simple person, and she shows Ivana to be both ambitious on her own, and deeply affected by Trump’s cruelty.
It’s no surprise that The Apprentice has caused mixed response from audiences online, while some viewers have embraced its unflinching description and development of Trump’s rise to power, others see it as too sympathetic like its almost made too commercial to make it look good in the eyes of the public when the truth might be way more dark. Love it of hate it, specially during a year of presidential elections in the US, this is a movie that created a certain impact.
I would not call this the best movie of the year, although a good candidate for best biopic, not sure if that's is a category but would not be ruling for Stan or Strong for an Oscar to be honest. I'm the type of guy who does not believe everything they say on the screen so I bet things were much worst than the movie shows, not everyone feels that the movie goes far enough at exploring the effects of Trump's actions on those around him Ivana's character gets some screen time, but others like Fred Jr. are underdeveloped.
For me personally, The Apprentice worked because it didn’t try too hard to be either a take down or a glorification of Donald Trump it simply showed him as he was during this period: ambitious, flawed, and growing more and more monstrous as he climbed higher and higher up the ladder of success. It does a great job of explaining how power can corrupt, always keeping that mindset and fixed on a certain phase of his life, very different to what Napoleon (2024) did that try to explain so many aspects of Napoleon across his entire life.
Something I still remember is how Trump was obsessed with always claiming victory no matter how badly he lost, which is a theme that rings especially loud considering recent political goings on. It’s made me think about how much a society like ours values winning at all costs and what the hell happens when you let people like Trump rise unchallenged through systems built to reward ruthlessness over integrity. At the end Donald Trump has truly absorbed the lessons of Roy Cohn, but refuses to acknowledge how much he owes his mentor, how he almost forgot Cohn
There’s also a controversial ending where Trump gets liposuction and nails his bald spot down like he’s completing his transformation, both inside and out, really looks into something monstrous, this was symbolic moment, his final form if you want to call it that way; it wasn’t about vanity, it was about erasing any sign of vulnerability or imperfection of himself, on most true villain stories once you see them cry or weak they going after you because you have seen their weak side. At the end of the movie during an interview with Tony Schwartz, Trump talks about his business deals, which to him aren't just transactions, but the art itself and not the means to any end goal, but winning itself.
#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #trump, #biopic, #realestate, #newyork, #sebastianstan, #jeremystrong, #roycohn, #ivana, #power, #corruption, #mentor, #transformation, #80s, #visuals, #performance, #ambition, #manipulation, #ruthless, #aids, #narcissism, #cinematography, #greed, #violence, #success, #betrayal, #flixfinder