The Apprentice is the true story about the creation of a morally corrupt real estate mogul. In the early 1970s, Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) serves as the vice president of his father’s housing company. Donald has concerns that his future, and company, may be in jeopardy due to mounting lawsuits regarding discriminatory rental policies. Furthermore, Donald has big dreams. His primary ambition is to construct the crown jewel of hotels in downtown New York City. Through happenstance, Donald meets the man who may be able to grant his every wish: Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). At this point, Cohn has established himself as one of the most ruthless lawyers in city—a man who never loses, no matter the cost. Cohn sees something special in Trump. He imparts upon him his killer instinct philosophy and a set of aggressive rules for success. These tenets morph Trump into a brutal businessman as his influence and empire grows.
What works in The Apprentice are the phenomenal human performances. Director Ali Abbasi (Border, The Last of Us) wisely focuses on facts as much as possible, avoiding any semblance of caricature with his subjects. At its core, The Apprentice is a very human story. It is a thoughtful examination of Trump’s younger years: an analysis of the factors, people, advice, and situations that bred a dynamic polarizing individual. To this end, Stan and Strong are fantastic as multifaceted, complex people. They never provide an imitation or impression, but rather embody the philosophies of the men they portray. As such, The Apprentice remains impressively objective. It challenges the audience to draw their own conclusions about some of the questionable practices and activities leveraged in the name of power.
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Audiences who have strong feelings about Donald Trump, positively or negatively, may not enjoy The Apprentice as much as others. While the film strives to neither denigrate nor glorify Trump, this representation of him may affect watchers. Furthermore, The Apprentice contains a myriad of graphic language and depictions of physical assault that may make viewers uncomfortable. Finally, while a creative choice, The Apprentice only focuses on about 15 years or so of Trump’s life and some may yearn for a comprehensive portrait of the man.
The Apprentice is a smartly crafty, insightful film. It does with ease with many biographical works struggle with: balance. Instead of creating a work of hagiography or defamation, Abbasi focuses on the question: what made this man?
Recommended if you enjoyed: Vice; I, Tonya; Primary Colors
The Apprentice is now available to see in theater or rent through digital services.
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